Milwaukee Latino voting rights are focus of redistricting trial

After hearing two days of testimony, a panel of three federal judges is set to rule on whether Wisconsin’s redistricting plan diluted the voting power of the Hispanic community of Milwaukee’s south side when it was divided among two districts, each with a largely white community added.
The judges also are considering which maps should be used in this year’s expected recall races and whether the plan unnecessarily shifted too many people in and out of other districts, depriving some 300,000 of a chance to vote for a state senator for six years.
The court heard from four expert witnesses who offered conflicting testimony on the impact of the new maps on the ability of Hispanics on Milwaukee’s south side to elect the candidate of their choice.
Kenneth Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and expert witness on redistricting called by plaintiffs, testified that the 8th and 9th Assembly districts were "radically reconfigured" under the new plan in a way that "severely diminished" the Latino community’s opportunity to elect a candidate of its choice.
Mayer noted that the old 8th District had the lowest voter turnout – dating back to 1998 – in the state. The significance: "It doesn’t take much of a demographic change to create a situation where non-Latino white voters would overwhelm the (majority) Latino votes," he said.
Bernard Grofman, an expert witness for the defense with international credentials, testified that a Hispanic candidate in the newly reconfigured 8th Assembly District "can and will win" the election. The seat is currently held by Jocasta Zamarripa, a Democrat.
"The Democratic primary in District Eight is tantamount to winning the election," Grofman said.
Testimony wrapped up late on Friday with both sides delivering closing arguments.
The judges are expected to issue a written decision in two weeks. Either side can appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
See complete coverage of the trial: http://elections.wispolitics.com/search/label/Redistricting%20trial.
– WisPolitics.com