State lawmakers passed legislation Thursday that will eliminate one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives — from nine to eight — from Milwaukee.
Under the legislation, minorities would make up the majority of the population in seven districts in the Assembly and two in the Senate.
The map includes six Assembly districts where African Americans make up a majority of voters and one where Hispanics would be the majority. It also includes one district where African Americans are at least 25 percent of voters and one where Hispanics are at least 25 percent.
The legislation has divided state lawmakers on party lines. Republicans have praised their version of the map as being legal and fair.
But Democrats, like Rep. Annette “Polly” Williams, D-Milwaukee, said the map is racist and unfairly puts minority groups together.
Williams and other Democrats said there are not enough minorities in those districts to guarantee the election of a African American or Hispanic lawmaker, and the plan would only strengthen the Republicans’ majority in the Assembly.
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, said the map was drawn to reflect the state’ s population shifts away from more urban areas, but the map does reflect the growing minority population in Milwaukee.
Congressional and legislative boundaries must be redrawn every 10 years to reflect population shifts determined by the census bureau. The districts must have roughly the same number of people.
Redistricting must be completed before candidates file for fall elections.
The Senate was also scheduled to take up a competing map drawn by Williams and other Democrats Thursday.
Plans from both parties have been filed with a federal court in Milwaukee, which has scheduled trials in April to consider redrawing the state’ s congressional and legislative districts.
State lawmakers say a compromise is unlikely and members of both parties said if their version of the map does not pass, they will file suit.
The Assembly passed the plan on a party-line vote and sent it to the Senate. The bill must be approved by the Senate and Gov. Scott McCallum to become law.
