¶ Overview
In 2012, as assistant attorney general, Lazar defended the Wisconsin State Republicans’ gerrymandered district maps. In 2011, the Wisconsin Assembly’s Republican majority redrew the state’s district maps “in a locked room” using software to “precisely draw district lines to benefit the majority party.” These maps allowed Republicans to maintain a majority despite receiving a disproportionate percentage of the vote in the 2012 and 2014 elections. University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Scientist Ken Mayer and immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera opposed the maps and argued they disenfranchised Latino voters and made “300,000 people wait six years […] between their chances to vote in a state Senate election.”
Lazar’s argument in defense of Wisconsin’s gerrymandered maps was that they actually gave Latino voters “an opportunity to select two candidates to the Assembly instead of one,” and that the lack of transparency in drawing the maps was irrelevant because “the process of legislation is not on trial.”
In 2025, Lazar criticized the Wisconsin Supreme Court for appointing Democrat-appointed judges to the panels that would hear cases against the Wisconsin Democrats’ redrawn maps. Lazar accused the Supreme Court of playing “political games,” called the action “a slap in the face of voters who care about the separation of powers,” and said “judges, not politicians,” should make redistricting decisions.
¶ Lazar Defended Republican Gerrymandering As Assistant Attorney General, But Later Criticized Democrats’ Redrawn Maps As “Political Games”
¶ 2012: Lazar Defended Wisconsin Republicans’ Redrawn Maps That Benefited Republicans And Disenfranchised Latino Voters
¶ 2012: As Assistant Attorney General, Lazar Defended Wisconsin’s Maps And Dismissed The Lack Of Transparency In Drawing The Maps
2012: As Assistant Attorney General, Lazar Defended Republicans’ Redrawn Maps, Claiming They “Would Give Latinos An Opportunity To Select Two Candidates To The Assembly,” And Argued That The Lack Of Transparency In Drawing The Maps Should Not Be Considered In The Case. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “In an opening statement Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Maria Lazar disputed Mayer's interpretation of the maps. She said the way Republicans drew the maps would give Latinos an opportunity to select two candidates to the Assembly - instead of one - because they kept a large Latino population in the 8th Assembly District while also adding Hispanics to the 9th Assembly District. The panel hearing the case - two of them appointed by Republican presidents - repeatedly has admonished GOP lawmakers for the secretive process they used to draw the maps. But Lazar argued on Thursday that the judges must concentrate on the maps themselves, rather than how they were drawn. ‘The process of legislation is not on trial,’ she said. She noted the last time lawmakers and the governor were able to approve maps was in 1983, when Democrats controlled the statehouse. ‘Had the Democratic Party held the majority and the governor's office (last year), a similar legislative process would have been implemented, as it was in 1983,’ she said.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/24/12]
¶ Republican Assemblymembers Redrew Wisconsin’s District Maps “In A Locked Room Where Only Republican Leaders Were Allowed In” And Used A Software To “Precisely Draw District Lines To Benefit The Majority Party”
2011: Republican Legislators Designed Wisconsin’s New District Maps “In A Locked Room Where Only Republican Leaders Were Allowed In,” And Used Past Election Results To “Maximize The Number Of Districts That Would Elect A Republican.” According to PBS Wisconsin, “In the 2010 fall general election, before redistricting, Republicans won 60 of 99 seats in the state Assembly after winning 57 percent of votes in races across the state. That win — part of a national Republican strategy known as REDMAP, the Redistricting Majority Project — allowed the GOP to control Wisconsin’s redistricting in 2011. After that win, Republican legislators hired attorney Eric McLeod and the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich to represent the Wisconsin Legislature and assist the Republican leadership in creating a partisan map favoring the GOP. Republican party leaders left the Capitol building to create the new maps at the Michael Best firm across the street. The group, including legislative aides and a consultant, used past election results to design districts ‘that would maximize the number of districts that would elect a Republican and minimize the number of districts that would elect a Democrat,’ according to the suit. Dale Schultz, who served as a Republican state senator during the 2011 redistricting, recalled that the map makers worked in a locked room where only Republican leaders were allowed in.” [PBS Wisconsin, 6/1/18]
- Republicans Used A Sophisticated Software To “More Precisely Draw District Lines To Benefit The Majority Party And Hurt The Minority Party.” According to PBS Wisconsin, “Prior to 2011, courts for many years were the de facto redistricting method in Wisconsin. In the past five state redistricting efforts, Wisconsin’s politically divided Legislature could not agree on one map. So every 10 years, the map ended up in the hands of nonpartisan judges. But 2011 was different, said Cullen, the former Democratic state senator. That year, Republicans controlled the Legislature, and they used sophisticated software to ‘more precisely draw district lines to benefit the majority party and hurt the minority party,’ he said.” [PBS Wisconsin, 6/1/18]
¶ The Redrawn Maps Allowed Republicans To Maintain A Majority In The Assembly While Receiving Less Than Half Of The Vote
In 2012, Republicans Won 60 Seats In The Wisconsin Assembly But Only 46 Percent Of The Vote, And In 2014, Republicans Won 63 Seats With Only 52 Percent Of The Vote. According to PBS Wisconsin, “The 2012 fall general election results showed a 174,000-vote margin in favor of Democrats running for Assembly; however, Republicans took the Assembly again, maintaining a hold on the majority with 60 of 99 seats but only 46 percent of the vote. In the 2014 fall general election, Republicans won 63 seats with only 52 percent of the two-party vote.” [PBS Wisconsin, 6/1/18]
¶ University Of Wisconsin-Madison Political Scientist Ken Mayer Argued The Republican Maps Would “Overwhelm The Voting Power Of The Latino Community”
University Of Wisconsin-Madison Political Scientist Ken Mayer Testified That The Republican Maps “Moved 719 Times As Many People As Was Necessary” And “Would Simply Overwhelm The Voting Power Of The Latino Community And Severely Diminish Their Ability To Elect The Candidate Of Their Choice.” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “They could have left the 60th Assembly District in Ozaukee County largely alone because it was underpopulated by just 10 people. Instead, they moved 17,595 people out of the district and put 17,963 people into it. In all, the shift moved 719 times as many people as was necessary, testified Ken Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist. The moves also had profound effects for the Latino neighborhoods on Milwaukee's near south side, he said. There, the new batch of voters in the 8th Assembly District ‘would simply overwhelm the voting power of the Latino community and severely diminish their ability to elect the candidate of their choice,’ Mayer testified.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/24/12]
¶ Immigrant Rights Group Voces De La Frontera And A Group Of Democratic Citizens Argued The Maps “Make 300,000 People Wait Six Years […] Between Their Chances To Vote In A State Senate Election”
Immigrant Rights Group Voces De La Frontera And A Group Of Democratic Citizens Argued That The Republican Maps Would “Make 300,000 People Wait Six Years […] Between Their Chances To Vote In A State Senate Election.” According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “This time is different because Republicans run the Capitol and were able to approve maps last year that favor the GOP. But even before they made their maps public, a group of Democratic citizens sued in federal court in Milwaukee. Their case was later consolidated with one by the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, and it is being heard by a special three-judge panel. The groups argue the maps violate the U.S. Constitution and federal Voting Rights Act because of how they treat Latino areas and because they make 300,000 people wait six years, instead of the usual four, between their chances to vote in a state Senate election.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/24/12]
¶ 2025: Lazar Criticized The Appointments Of Democratic-Appointed Judges To Hear Lawsuits Against Democratic Redrawn Maps As “Political Games”
¶ Lazar Criticized The Wisconsin Supreme Court For Appointing Democratic-Appointed Judges To Hear Lawsuits Against Democrats’ Redrawn District Maps As “Political Games”
2025: Lazar Criticized The Wisconsin Supreme Court For Appointing Democratic-Appointed Judges To Hear Lawsuits Against Democrats’ Redrawn District Maps, Calling It “Political Games” And “A Slap In The Face Of Voters Who Believe In The Separation Of Powers.” According to Lazar’s Facebook, “Wisconsin deserves better than more political games from our highest court; this is a slap in the face of voters who believe in the separation of powers. Next April cannot come soon enough to ensure sanity comes to the court. Dan O'Donnell The Wisconsin Supreme Court just apponited two three-judge panels to hear lawsuits aimed at gerrymandering the state for Democrats ahead of next year's midterms. In case you are wondering how fair and impartial these judges will be, here they are: Patricia Baker: Appointed by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 David Conway: Appointed by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 Emily Lonergan: Appointed by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 Michael Moran: Former Chair of the Democrat Party of Marathon County Julie Genovese: Former clerk of uber-liberal Chief Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson Mark Sanders: Former Assistant District Attorney under uber-liberal Milwaukee DA John Chisholm”
[Facebook, Judge Maria Lazar, 11/25/25]
¶ Lazar Said “Judges, Not Politicians” Should Make Redistricting Decisions
2025: Lazar Said Redistricting Decisions Should Be Made By “Judges, Not Politicians.” According to Lazar’s Facebook, “The people of Wisconsin elect representatives to draw electoral maps. The courts make sure the maps comply with the law. We need judges, not politicians, making judicial decisions on important constitutional issues like redistricting. Learn more”
[Facebook, Judge Maria Lazar, 11/12/25]