Democrats are planning to fight a Republican lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court which would utilize the redistricting lines approved earlier this year for potential recall elections next year.
The Democratic Party will file a motion today to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of recall committees across the state, according to Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski.
A group of Republicans filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on Nov. 21 asking the court to appoint a panel of three circuit court judges to hear their argument that new districts should be used for any recall elections that would take place next year.
The petition also asked that the high court take original jurisdiction in the case, should there be a dispute concerning the validity of the redistricting statute enacted this summer.
“The Republican Supreme Court suit seeks to undo the recent actions of the Legislature and move to what they see as a friendlier venue the legal questions arising over state Senate recall lines,” Zielinski said in a press release.
The redistricting lines decided upon this summer were scheduled to go into effect Nov. 1, 2012, according to Reid Magney, spokesperson for the Government Accountability Board.
Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, said Republicans included this date in the original redistricting statute.
The lawsuit alleges Republican efforts to save their own jobs instead of focusing on creating jobs for Wisconsin citizens, Roys said.
“While refusing to put struggling Wisconsinites back to work, they’ve focused on gaming the system nonstop to protect their own jobs,” Roys said. “Here we have yet another trick to try to circumvent the law to give Republicans an unfair advantage in the election, because they have to insulate themselves from being held accountable by voters.”
Jay Heck, Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said the lawsuit to implement the new redistricting lines earlier than Nov. 1 would be difficult to win because it would be a direct violation of the redistricting law passed by Republicans during the summer.
Heck said using the new redistricting lines would be more advantageous to Republicans because it would make it easier for them to win potential recall elections in certain districts.
Heck said the redistricting would not affect a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker, but would affect potential elections against four Republican senators.
Efforts to recall Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau and Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau, are currently underway. If these senators lost their recall elections, Democrats would gain control of the Senate, Heck said.
Heck said allowing the new districts to be used for recall elections would confuse voters and give Republicans an advantage in those elections.
“It would be an abuse of power to change these districts now rather than in November, and it would confuse voters completely,” Heck said. “Most voters wouldn’t know what election they vote in. It is going to be complicated enough with the voter ID bill. Some voters would be potentially disenfranchised if they aren’t able to vote in the district they’re in now, but that is, of course, what the Republicans want.”
The court has not yet accepted or denied the Republicans’ petition. According to Supreme Court Information Officer Tom Sheehan, there is no time frame for the court to take action on the petition.
