Only one-fourth of draft Senate district voting plans were fairer than a previous, unconstitutional map from 2021, a coalition of Michigan advocates found in a new analysis.
Jamie Lyons-Eddy, executive director of the nonpartisan group Voters Not Politicians, said she expected more than three of the 12 maps to be fairer than the unconstitutional districts from 2021.
“I think it’s absolutely possible to meet the federal requirements to provide more opportunity districts for historically marginalized communities, to respect communities of interest and it’s better on partisan fairness,” Lyons-Eddy said.
Michigan’s congressional and state legislative voting districts are drawn up by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC), which is a relatively new process. Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative in 2018’s midterm election to move the district redrawing responsibility away from legislators and to the new 13-member panel, which is composed of four Republicans, four Democrats and five independents.
Voters Not Politicians organized the ballot initiative process in 2018, and still is a watchdog for the process.
New House maps were approved by a federal court panel at the end of March and will be used for the 2024 election.
“Both in the House and the Senate redraw, they’ve been able to draw maps that do a considerably better job of giving historically marginalized communities an opportunity, a better opportunity to elect candidates of their choice,” Lyons-Eddy said.
The court gave the MICRC more time to redo the Senate maps, as the upper chamber isn’t up for reelection until 2026.
“You want maps that lead to outcomes where the majority of votes gets the majority of seats,” Lyons-Eddy said.
But Lyons-Eddy said no test is a “silver bullet” for judging fairness. She said it is important to look at all factors and how they play out in individual elections to determine if a districting pattern will represent constituents.
The next step for the 12 Senate draft maps is public comment. Public comments are scheduled Thursday online and in Detroit next week. The official public comment period will close June 21.
“We would like to see the commission seriously consider and incorporate all public feedback and make sure they arrive at a final map that complies with the Voting Rights Act, that respects Michigan’s diverse communities of interest and gives voters partisan fairness across all districts,” Lyons-Eddy said.
This story was originally published by Michigan Advance. Read more here: https://michiganadvance.com/2024/06/03/analysis-only-1-4-of-michigan-senate-districts-redrawn-by-micrc-are-fairer-than-previous-map/
