The Headlines
The MICRC has officially opened up the portal for public comment on the 10 sets of draft maps for House Districts 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14. The public comment period will run through Friday, February 23rd.
Professor of Economics Jon Eguia produced this extremely informative analysis of the final draft maps. The MICRC has to weigh several criteria that are in tension with each other, including Equal Protection, the federal court’s order to only redraw unvoided districts if necessary, VRA compliance, consideration of Communities of Interest, and partisan fairness. (Compactness and consideration of existing county boundaries are fairly equal across all maps.)
Voters Not Politicians is continuing our digital outreach campaign, which has now reached over 300,000 Metro Detroit residents, to inform and engage residents in the redistricting process. We are also launching a series of Public Comment Coaching events to help prepare residents to make their voices heard about the new maps.
At the same time, the legislature is resuming its work in Lansing, and Voters Not Politicians is using this opportunity to push forward long overdue reforms to government transparency. On Wednesday, we testified in support of Senate Bills 669 and 670 to expand Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.
The Details
Redistricting
- The nine collaborative House maps and 1 individual map submitted by Commissioner Szetela are up for public comment until Friday, February 23rd, and the commission will review public input on the draft proposed maps on February 27th. They anticipate approving the final House map on February 28th.
- Based on a recommendation from Voters Not Politicians, the MICRC website has been updated to include direct links to the comment portal for each draft map.
- The commission will also be hosting a virtual town hall and two in-person public hearings to receive input on the House maps and make minuscule changes. The town hall dates and locations are below:
- February 15th: Virtual town hall (9 AM – 12 PM, 1 PM – 4 PM, 5 PM – 8 PM)
- February 21st: Greater Grace Temple on 23500 W. Seven Mile Rd (10 AM – 1 PM, 2 PM – 5 PM, 6 PM – 8 PM)
- February 22nd: Second Ebenezer Church on 14601 Dequindre Rd (10 AM – 1 PM, 2 PM – 5 PM, 6 PM – 8 PM)
- On Monday, VNP will host our first Public Comment Coaching session instructing volunteers and Detroit-area residents how to comment on the maps.
- The commission also voted to reject a proposed salary increase, as well as to reject a Notice to Vacate Commissioner Eid during the February 8th meeting.
Legislative Lobbying
- Michigan is a national outlier in government transparency because our legislative branch as well as the Office of the Governor and Lt. Governor are exempted from Freedom of Information Act requirements that apply to state agencies, and Voters Not Politicians has been working since 2019 to close that loophole.
- This week the State Senate Committee on Oversight heard testimony on SB 669 and 670, which would expand existing FOIA requirements to the legislature, the Governor’s office, and the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
- On Wednesday, VNP Programs Director Kim Murphy-Kovalick testified in support of both of these bills, saying “We, the people, deserve to know who is influencing policy decisions, and why some policies move forward while others stall… Voters entrust officials to faithfully represent their interests, the public interest. Maintaining openness will ensure that trust is not broken.”
- Note: VNP did recommend that SB 670 be amended to more closely align with existing FOIA law, keeping a public body who seeks to withhold information carrying the evidentiary burden that secrecy is “clearly” required in the case of legal action.
- Voters Not Politicians also advocated for the creation of an independent state FOIA ombudsman office, which reports to a FOIA oversight commission to greatly improve the administration of Freedom of Information Act requests. This recommendation is based on extensive research from the VNP Volunteer Policy Committee and evidence from 20 states that have a FOIA ombudsman.
- View Kim’s full testimony here. Her remarks begin around 45:15.
Keep in Mind
- Openness and transparency are pillars of a strong democracy. The time for us to close the FOIA loophole is now so that we can pull back the curtain on how policy decisions are made in Michigan.
- Voters overwhelmingly supported an independent citizens redistricting commission because they believe that partisan fairness is critical for fair maps. The commission must continue to consider all measures of partisan fairness as they respond to public input and make final adjustments to the draft maps.
- The voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the citizens redistricting commission also specifies that the commission is the only body that can approve electoral maps for Michigan voters. Defaulting to a special master would be sending our democracy several steps backwards.
- Even with a few bumps in the road, Michigan’s fair, transparent redistricting system is still worlds better than what we used to have, and what most states have: maps drawn in secret, by and for politicians.
What’s Next
Voters Not Politicians is determined to leverage our vast volunteer network and the current pro-voter majority in Lansing to finally pass FOIA reform. Our Dial for Democracy program will connect volunteers to their state senators to urge them to support these bills. We will also be making this legislation a priority for our grassroots citizen lobbying program.
We will also continue using our digital platform to reach Detroiters and Metro Detroiters and to make sure these voters are accurately informed and effectively engaged in the redraw process. You can support this work by donating to the redraw fund or by sharing the sign-up link: vnp.vote/detroit-redraw.
We have two Public Comment Coaching sessions scheduled next week for Detroit residents: Monday, Feb. 12 at 4:00 PM and Friday, Feb. 16 at 4:00 PM. Both events are virtual and free to attend.
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