By: Associated Press//October 24, 2011//
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A three-judge panel in Milwaukee has refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s new legislative and congressional districts.
The Republican-controlled Legislature redrew the districts this summer to reflect population changes. Democrats have complained the new boundaries are unfair and amount to a naked power grab.
A group of Wisconsin voters filed a federal lawsuit in June seeking to block the new boundaries. They argued nearly 300,000 people won’t be able to vote in state Senate races next year because they now live in different districts.
The state Justice Department asked the judges to dismiss the case. But the judges ruled Friday the voters have standing to sue and their allegations are serious enough to justify continuing the case.