MILWAUKEE (AP) -- An expert witness in a federal trial over the constitutionality of Wisconsin's election maps says they were drawn in ways that "significantly diminished" the voting power of Milwaukee's Latino community.

Kenneth Mayer (MAY'-er) teaches political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the 2011 maps shifted the boundaries of two Milwaukee Assembly districts in ways that divided blocs of Latino voters. He says the maps also introduced non-Latino residents into the district who were more likely than Latinos to vote. A Latino group says the maps would make it harder for their community to elect candidates sympathetic to their causes.

Democrats are suing to keep the new Republican-friendly maps from being implemented. The district boundaries are adjusted every 10 years to reflect updated U.S. Census numbers.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- After two days of delays, a federal trial is set to begin in Milwaukee in a case involving the state's latest election maps.

The maps show which voters are in which voting districts. The district boundaries are adjusted every 10 years to reflect updated U.S. Census numbers.

Republican lawmakers drew up the latest maps in strict secrecy last year and passed them in a GOP-led Legislature.

Democrats have challenged the GOP-friendly maps for shifting the districts for hundreds of thousands of voters without a good reason. An immigrant-rights group has also sued, alleging that the boundaries divide Latino blocs, weakening their voting power.

They're suing the state Government Accountability Board to prevent it from implementing the new maps.

The trial starts Thursday morning. It's expected to wrap up late Friday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)