Testimony concluded Friday in the high-stakes court case pitting Democrats and a group challenging the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s new legislative districts against Republican lawmakers arguing in favor of the maps.
The immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera and its Democratic partners are suing the state in federal court over claims the new districts unfairly separate Latino communities in Milwaukee.
Also, the group argues the maps unnecessarily move people from one district to another, denying voting rights for approximately 300,000 people around the state because they have to wait six years to vote instead of four.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, lawyers representing the state ended their testimony Friday arguing the maps were passed by legislators and signed into law, so the court should not interfere in the political process.
Lawyers for Voces de la Frontera criticized what they called a secretive process Republicans used to draw the maps last summer, saying the lack of public input led to problems.
The panel of three federal judges will give a written decision in the next few weeks.
