Sen. Steve Gallardo is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene to protect minority voting rights and prevent the removal of Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission members.

In a letter on Monday, Gallardo, D-Phoenix, asked DOJ to inform Gov. Jan Brewer, Senate President Russell Pearce and House Speaker Andy Tobin that the removal of any commissioners would require preclearance by the department. If they engage in “any further attempts to disrupt the redistricting process,” Gallardo said DOJ should draw Arizona’s new congressional and legislative districts itself.

“The efforts to circumvent the redistricting process are deeply troubling and could have grave consequences to the very individuals the Voting Rights Act was intended to protect. I ask that you act quickly to ensure elections remain fair in the state of Arizona,” wrote Gallardo, a member of an organization that has lobbied the IRC for strong minority representation in the new districts.

Arizona is one of a handful of states that require DOJ approval for any changes to election law.

Gallardo said the IRC is being intimidated to favor districts that favor Republicans through Brewer’s threats to forcibly remove commissioners, an investigation launched by Attorney General Tom Horne and a joint legislative committee that approved a report on Monday accusing the commission of a litany of improprieties.

“Since the intimidation to this point has not resulted in more favorable maps, the threats of impeachment are becoming more realistic,” Gallardo wrote. “This effort to ultimately remove and replace AIRC members which are not favored by one party is nothing more than a blatant attempt to circumvent the redistricting process approved by the state of Arizona and pre-cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

A special session to remove independent IRC Chairwoman Colleen Mathis was widely expected to begin on Tuesday, but a spokesman for Brewer said she would not issue a special session call, at least not for that day.

Gallardo said Arizona’s Hispanic population needs protecting now more than ever due to its massive increase during the past decade. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the state’s Hispanic population grew to about 1.9 million from 1.3 million. The state’s population as a whole grew from 5.1 million to 6.4 million during the same period.

Related:

• Brewer lofts ‘nuclear’ option, setting off redistricting turmoil
• Redistricting committee may not make concrete recommendations to IRC
• Republican leaders blast IRC over congressional maps
• Mathis refutes open meeting allegations
• GOP hopes may be pinned on DOJ