The Detroit plaintiffs who won a lawsuit against the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission said in a recent court filing that the remedy map adopted late last month would continue to violate the U.S. Constitution because it prejudices Black voters and favors incumbents under a racially gerrymandered plan already struck down by the court.
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 Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission on Wednesday voted to adopt a Detroit House district remedy map for court approval, and days ahead of the federal three-judge panel's March 1 deadline.
Three new map plans for the city of Detroit's House Districts drawn late last week by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission could pit two representatives against each other in the Hamtramck area, would rearrange district territory around Birmingham and Royal Oak and significantly carve up the 13th District, currently the focus of a special election.
Another idea of how to redraw Detroit's non-compliant House districts emerged Thursday before the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission meets in the city for two weeks of in-person meetings.
Two draft remedy maps for the city of Detroit and its surrounding suburbs were completed Wednesday by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission as it races to deliver constitutionally compliant maps to the federal court after its first iteration violated the equal protection rights of Detroit residents.
Nearly two years after it adopted maps for the House, Senate and U.S. House in 2021, the independent commission tasked with redrawing Michigan's political landscape was back at the drawing board Tuesday with a court mandate not to use race as a factor in remedy maps for new Detroit-area districts.
Democrats took control of state government for the first time in decades in January with Governor Gretchen Whitmer winning reelection and the party taking both the House and Senate.
During a late-night session Wednesday, the House managed to muster up the votes to pass financial disclosure requirements with the help of some Republicans as several Democrats voted no. The passage of the bills left a bipartisan group of lawmakers unhappy.
Milkweed makes Michigan more biodiverse, environmental advocates say, and as such, the plant should be removed from the state's list of noxious weeds.