Detroit-area House Democrats who would see significant changes in districts redrawn this week by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission said in interviews that the new lines were surprising and somewhat disappointing, but they were ready to roll in terms of outreach in communities they don’t currently represent.
Members of the commission on Wednesday voted to adopt a redrawn configuration of seven House districts that were thrown out by a federal three-judge panel because the ICRC drew those lines predominantly based on race, a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
The new map, titled Motown Sound FC E1, was submitted to the court before its March 1 deadline and will undergo review from a special master. A second special master was tapped to draw an alternative remedy map in the event the commission failed to meet its deadlines or if its new Detroit House map failed to meet muster with the court.
If the panel accepts the Motown Sound FC E1 map, it could mean some level of change, in some cases significant, to House districts 1 through 14. As far as the new map’s potential impact on partisan control of the House, a new 13th District consisting of Roseville, central St. Clair Shores and eastern Warren has the potential to be competitive in a strong Republican year but leans Democratic. Otherwise, the changes have no effect on competitive seats, only redrawing solidly Democratic ones.
Voters Not Politicians, the group that was instrumental in crafting and advocating the constitutional amendment that created the commission, also weighed in on the Motown Sound map.
Like IPPSR, VNP has shared concerns and praise for the commission’s work in the past. That was no different with the Motown Sound map.
In a release to VNP email subscribers, Director Jamie Lyons-Eddy said that some believed the commission could not get it done, but her group believed otherwise and kept the faith that the ICRC could put forth a working remedy map.
“This week, commissioners made small adjustments to Motown Sound, the map that was overwhelmingly supported during public comment, to make sure district boundaries respected Detroit neighborhoods as much as possible,” Eddy wrote. “While the commission could have done better to improve partisan fairness, Voters Not Politicians agrees with the majority of commissioners that of the available options, the Motown Sound FC E1 map did the best job responding to public comment, addressing the issues identified by the court, and following constitutional criteria.”
Court proceedings will continue through March in Agee v. Benson, the lawsuit that resulted in the redrawing of the Detroit House map. The plaintiffs have until March 8 to submit objections to the map, which they have already indicated they would do with proposed amendments. The commission must respond to those objections or amendments by March 15. A special reviewing master’s report should be submitted by then, as well.
The panel has until March 29 to decide on which map to approve – the commission’s or the special mapping master’s work.
