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NEW MAPS: Some voters say they didn't know districts had been re-drawn ahead of primary election

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MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. — Tuesday's election is the first using new voting district maps, approved by the state legislature earlier this year.

Some districts have changed, meaning voters could see different lawmakers on their ballots than they expected. We went to those polling places to see if voters knew about the change and see how they were reacting.

"So the people who you're about to go in to vote for are going to be different, did you know that," TMJ4's Jenna Rae asked.

"No I didn't, I had no idea," voter, Robert Ureda, said.

Robert Ureda
Robert Ureda. Lives in Bob Donovan’s old district. He said he didn’t know about the redistricting and he was expecting to vote for representatives he was familiar with Tuesday. He said he would’ve liked to have known more about the districts changing.

Ureda has lived in what was Assembly District 84 since the 1970s. He came to cast his vote at Wedgewood Park School on Tuesday.

"I came to vote for the amendments, the constitutional amendments that are on there. I think Donovan is up, I'm not sure if it's this election," Ureda added.

Ureda is referring to state representative Bob Donovan, whose old district has been re-drawn.

Watch: Some voters say they not aware of re-drawn districts ahead of primary

Voters react to new voting maps in use

"So, he is up, but he is now no longer in your district, did you know that," Rae asked Ureda.

"Wow, no I didn't know that, no," Ureda responded.

It was the reaction of many when asked if they knew district lines had been re-drawn.

"I think I heard a little bit about it," voter, Ronald Schmidt, said.

Ronald Schmidt
Ronald Schmidt. He told TMJ4 he knew about the redistricting and was prepared for it, but didn’t know he had to choose a party-specific ballot, and wanted to see more detail on the changing of districts and which ones were moving.

"What are some of those things that you would've liked to know when you went in," Rae asked.

"A little bit more detail on what it is and what they're doing, you know, what district are they going to. You know, which ones are they combining, which ones are moving," Schmidt said.

Other voters TMJ4 talked to said they were prepared for the change.

"One of the parties sent out a little notice because of course, they want you to show up to vote and that was helpful," Marty McIntire said.

Marty McIntire
Marty McIntire, is in Donovan’s old and new district. He knew about the redistricting because of the news and fliers he got in the mail. Nothing changed for him though. Where he lives, everything stayed the same.


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