Thursday, February 23, 2012
9:34 AM
Asst AG argues no legal basis for challenging redistricting map
There is no legal basis for the challenge to the redistricting law, Assistant Attorney General Maria Lazar said today in her opening statements of a trial challenging the maps.
Lazar, who is defending the law, pushed back against two arguments raised in the lawsuit challenging the map -- that the plan dilutes minority representation and that some 300,000 people will go six years between voting for a state senator.
Lazar noted that the Latino community is divided on the plan. Those supporting it note that the two Assembly districts created that incorporate much of Milwaukee's Latino population will each have a super majority soon because of the number of young Hispanics coming of voting age.
She also noted that while 300,000 voters statewide will go six years between regulr state Senate elections, the number was higher in a map crafted in 1982.
Lazar also said that if you removed the voters who could have voted in recent state Senate recall elections, the number drops to about 135,000 who will not be able to vote for a senator for six more years.
The population deviation among the districts is also less than in 1982, she said.
"That body (the Legislature) does not have to draw a map that satisfies everybody," she said. "That would be impossible."
She noted that much of the criticism over the process has been over the speed of the adoption of the GOP drafted plan, which took only 12 days. The 1982 plan took only five days, she said.
"The process of the Legislature is not on trial here," she said
-- By Marie Rohde
Labels: Redistricting trial
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