Mapping panel plans to disband
Michigan redistricting commission mulls lawsuits
Redistricting – the once-a-decade process of drawing new political maps – has left the members of the Michigan commission that created the voting districts currently in place with a puzzle: whether they need to stick around as long as the threat of lawsuits hovers over their work.
The next census count of every resident in the U.S. triggers the establishment of the next commission, which must convene by Oct. 15, 2030.
In the meantime, the current group of commissioners has had to grapple with what to do before then, wrestling with ambiguous language in the Michigan Constitution approved by voters in 2018 to set up a new independent, citizens-led redistricting process.
During one discussion on the matter, some commissioners argued that they should serve in the intervening nine years between approving new maps and the start of the next redistricting cycle.
Steve Lett, an independent commissioner, said during one meeting that it would be “a slap in the face” for the current commission to continue for the next decade in anticipation a lawsuit might materialize later in the decade that would require the commission to defend its work in court.
During a meeting Thursday, the commission unanimously approved a “dormancy and reactivation plan” that allows the commission to vote to go dormant when pending litigation against them comes to an end.
The new maps were approved a year ago, why is there still a redistricting commission?
The members of Michigan’s inaugural citizens redistricting commission approved new congressional and state legislative maps on Dec. 28, 2021. But lawyers for the redistricting commission say the Michigan Constitution is clear: The terms of the commissioners can’t expire before any lawsuits against the commission conclude. And the commission currently faces a federal voting rights challenge.
The state constitution explicitly states: “The terms of the commissioners shall expire once the commission has completed its obligations for a census cycle but not before any judicial review of the redistricting plan is complete.”
What’s the status of the lawsuit?
The voting rights lawsuit challenging the commission’s state legislative maps alleges that the new districts illegally dilute the voting strength of Black voters. A recent order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan calls for a filing date for final motions in June 2023.
A group of Republicans voluntarily dismissed a separate challenge to the congressional maps this month. That lawsuit alleged that the new congressional districts contain population differences between two districts that are too large. The day before the Nov. 8 midterm election, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed as moot an appeal that sought a court order barring the use of the maps in the midterm.
How many more elections will take place under the current district maps?
The Nov. 8 midterm marked the first general election held under the new district lines drawn by the redistricting commission. Unless a court orders revisions of the maps in response to the pending lawsuit, four more elections will take place under the same districts used in 2022.
Michigan voters will select candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Michigan House of Representatives in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030 and candidates for the Michigan Senate in 2026 and 2030. The current districts will also be used in special elections that are called to fill any vacancies that occur in a congressional or state legislative seat.
What will happen to the commission once the lawsuit is resolved?
Under the dormancy plan adopted by the commission, once the lawsuit it faces is over, the commission will vote to go dormant.
If the members approve the vote, the commission would have at least 30 days to close shop. The commissioners and the group’s staff would return computers, phones, records and other materials to the Michigan Department of State.
The group would also return unspent funds and the commissioners would stop receiving any compensation.
How does the commission plan to handle lawsuits filed later in the decade?
Michigan is no stranger to redistricting litigation toward the end of the decade.
In 2017 – nearly six years after former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder signed the old GOPdrawn state legislative districts and congressional districts into law – the League of Women Voters of Michigan filed a legal challenge arguing the districts gave Republicans a disproportionate advantage. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling ordering the districts to be redrawn because they were unfair to Democratic voters.
The high court determined in an earlier redistricting ruling that partisan gerrymandering – the practice of drawing district lines to benefit a political party – was outside the purview of the federal courts.
It’s possible that after the redistricting commission enters a period of dormancy, a lawsuit could be filed against the group challenging the maps it drew. If that happens, it would trigger the reactivation of the commission under the plan adopted Thursday.
A commissioner notified of litigation must, in turn, notify the Michigan Department of State, which would be responsible for reaching out to the rest of the commissioners and convening a commission meeting to respond to the litigation.
Should the commission become active again in response to any lawsuits, the commissioners would also receive their old computers and phones and would be entitled to receive compensation again under the reactivation plan. If a court orders the maps to be redrawn before the next redistricting cycle, the current group of commissioners would be responsible for making necessary adjustments under the group’s reactivation plan.