The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Updates Blog

The commission continued their deliberations regarding their State Senate draft maps as they edited their “Cherry” map to achieve partisan fairness. They made amendments towards metro Detroit districts to respect AAPI communities in Troy, Rochester Hills, and Sterling Heights and split Ann Arbor into two districts. Following their lunch, they connected Ada and Cascade Townships […]

Following their statewide public hearing tour, the Commission reconvened in Lansing this week to begin their deliberations based on responses toward their maps. They began today by reviewing the most common public comments they have received in Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Gaylord, and Flint. Afterward, they began evaluating collaborative and individual maps to determine which […]

Michiganders can now view and comment on the commission’s proposed collaborative draft maps via the public comment portal. By selecting Draft Plans, residents can view the 3 State House, 3 State Senate, and 4 Congressional district maps either through the portal website or through the online mapping software, Districtr. Through Districtr, viewers can also view […]

The commission has voted this afternoon to approve the first set of draft State House, State Senate, and Congressional district maps for the second round of public hearings beginning on October 18th. The commission approved 3 State Senate, 3 State House, and 4 Congressional district maps in total. Please keep an eye out on our […]

The MICRC voted today to approve one of their State Senate draft maps to publish prior to their second round of public hearings by a 5-4 vote. This was voted upon after commissioners spent the morning making edits to correct for partisan fairness, going against the commission’s original plan to determine which draft maps would […]

The commission continued towards its goals towards achieving partisan fairness and VRA compliance within their State House, State Senate, and Congressional district maps. They spent the morning adjusting House districts in metro Detroit, Downriver, and West Michigan to check for population deviation, resulting in Grand Rapids being split along the river. Following the lunch break, […]

The commission continued adjusting their district maps in their State House draft, altering districts to ensure partisan fairness and Voting Rights Act (VRA) compliance. Among these shifts included creating two VRA districts around Grand Rapids, shifting district lines along the Lakeshore, and creating a district that includes both Midland and Bay City. Although the overall […]

As the commission ramps up its mapping days to ensure draft maps are completed before the first round of public hearings, we at Voters Not Politicians have noticed a great increase in coverage on the commissioners and their drafting process. Our blog aimed to update the public on the MICRC when such coverage was not […]

After deciding to reduce the number of public hearings for more mapping days, the Commission on Monday began one of its longer mapping sessions. Scheduled from 10 AM to 8 PM, the commission voted for these longer meeting days to ensure that the district maps are not only VRA compliant, but also display partisan fairness. […]

The commission received a partisan fairness analysis report from racial bloc voting expert, Dr. Lisa Handley, this morning. Evaluating all three map types (State House, State Senate, and Congressional), Dr. Handley used multiple measures to determine whether or not any of the commission’s draft maps give a partisan advantage to any political party. The commission […]