The Headlines
Now that the court has accepted the remedial maps submitted by the MICRC, the commission is preparing to quickly move on to the senate redraw phase. The voided state senate districts (1, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11) represent over 1.5 million Michiganders who will need to be kept informed and engaged during the next few months of this redraw process.
Voters Not Politicians is also working in coalition to support a legislative reform to secure Michigan’s place as a national leader in safeguarding the right to vote. The Michigan Voting Rights Act is the next step in strengthening Michigan’s democracy and removing voting barriers for voters with disabilities and voters of color.
The Details
Redistricting
- The commission and the plaintiffs must approve the official redraw timeline no later than April 12th. However, we anticipate the commission will begin redrawing the remedial Senate map in mid-April on a Thursday schedule.
- The Court has announced that they will approve a remedial Senate map by July 26th, 2024.
- Voters Not Politicians will be hosting multiple virtual and in-person town halls to ensure that voters are aware of the district redraw, especially voters who live in the affected districts. More information about the town halls is found below.
- VNP is updating digital content and producing a short animated video on the redistricting process and the redraw. The video will be added to our digital content and shared with partners.
- We sent a memo to the MICRC with our observations on the house district redraw and suggestions for this next phase. You can read the memo here.
Michigan Voting Rights Act
- The Michigan Voting Rights Act (Mi VRA or Senate Bills 401, 402, 403, and 404) will protect voters of color and voters with disabilities and strengthen Michigan’s democracy by:
- Providing new legal tools to fight discriminatory voting rules in court
- Expanding language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency
- Ensuring advanced public notice of key voting changes, enabling voters to take action
- Providing important protections and assistance for voters with disabilities
- Establishing a central hub for election information to increase transparency and promote best practices
- Requiring places where a court has found voting discrimination to prove that subsequent voting changes will not harm protected voters before they can go into effect.
- Implementing protections against discriminatory voting practices will shield voters from future attempts to undermine fair and accessible elections
- A recent audit of metro Detroit polling places conducted by Detroit Disability Power and the Carter Center found that while 25% of Michigan residents have a disability, 84% of polling places audited were inaccessible. The Michigan Voting Rights Act would enhance and clarify protections for voters with disabilities or who otherwise need assistance to vote.
What’s Next
Voters Not Politicians will be hosting several educational town halls about the redistricting process. These include both virtual and in-person town halls to inform the public about the Senate redraw. Our first virtual town hall will be held on April 17th at 6 PM, and we will be joined by MICRC commissioners Anthony Eid and Cynthia Orton.
These town halls are targeted towards those residents who likely aren’t closely following the redistricting news, but who still want to make their voices heard regarding their representation. We are also preparing educational resources for residents of the affected state Senate districts and planning a second digital campaign to engage the public in the redraw.
Voters Not Politicians has already partnered with All Voting is Local Michigan, Promote the Vote, and ACCESS to host an educational event for faith groups and other organizations around the Mi VRA. We have also launched a grassroots toolkit for activists and organizations to use to spread the word about this important voting rights legislation.
Over the coming months, Voters Not Politicians Legislative Liaisons will also be meeting with their state senators and representatives to further advocate for the Mi VRA package. We look forward to passing this pro-democracy reform before the end of this legislative session.
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