Proposed maps by a citizen group redrawing political boundaries would pit several incumbents against each other and eliminate one of two majority-minority districts.
Maps were supposed to be completed by Friday by Michigan’s new independent citizen redistricting commission. Supporters say Census delays made that impossible, but critics contend the panel is rife with dysfunction.
A new commission has spent weeks drawing districts in rural areas of Michigan, but has set aside only five days for southeast Michigan. Some fear they could be in a rush to complete the process.
The commission’s Democratic chair has missed 17 meetings since meetings began last year. At other times, commissioners worried about having enough members for a quorum as they race to complete their work.
The independent group changes its mind on the order of drawing districts, just one week after adopting an earlier schedule. One critic says the commission is far from transparent and unprepared.
Michigan’s population is flat, but districts that are heavily Democratic tended to lose more residents than Republican areas, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis. Rep. Dan Kildee’s district lost the most.
GOP areas in northern Michigan lose population, but so do some Democratic strongholds. Something’s got to give as the state loses one congressional seat.
The authors argue that hiring Washington, D.C. law firm BakerHostetler as litigation consultant would subvert the nonpartisan mission of the commission as it redraws the state’s unfairly gerrymandered political maps.
Critics question interview of firm with GOP ties and a history of defending legislatures accused of drawing illegal districts to a citizens’ panel created to end gerrymandering.
The U.S. Census is releasing population data on Thursday, so now the 13-member panel can get down to business after months of challenges and administrative work.
One of four Michigan residents are nonwhite. Two of 14 state representatives in Congress are people of color. As district maps get redrawn, advocates seek a greater voice.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission sought to extend a Sept. 17 deadline for redrawing political maps, noting that new U.S. Census population figures would not even be available to it until the end of September.
The state’s redistricting panel has said it will not have enough time to complete the maps. But some justices expressed want to let the process play out.
Should farmers get more clout in redistricting? Or churches? Those are among the ideas emerging from a statewide listening tour from a group charged with redrawing Michigan’s political districts.
Bridge Michigan’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán moderated a Zoom discussion with two redistricting experts on what’s new with Michigan’s citizen-driven process.
