Plaintiffs say redrawn Michigan maps have destroyed voting bloc but Democratic colleagues call effort Republican ‘power grab’

Plaintiffs say redrawn Michigan maps have destroyed voting bloc but Democratic colleagues call effort Republican ‘power grab’

A lawsuit brought by Black Democrats who partnered with Republican attorneys has undone Michigan’s first independently drawn legislative maps, in a development some other Democrats have labeled a GOP “power grab”.

Republicans for decades controlled all or part of the state legislature, and developed districts that a judge in 2019 characterized as a “gerrymander of historical proportions”. Democrats in 2022 took control of the state government for the first time in over 40 years after a nonpartisan independent redistricting commission implemented more balanced maps.

But a Republican-majority panel of federal district court judges appointed by a Republican circuit court judge ruled in early January that the maps diluted Black voting power and were drawn based on race, thus splitting communities that would otherwise vote in a bloc.

Several Michigan Democrats who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to publicly criticize members of their party expressed dismay because a Republican judiciary now controls the redrawing process, and they fear the new maps will be more favorable to the GOP.

  • @[email protected]
    17•8 months ago

    So for those that aren’t familiar with this and don’t read articles.

    • Michigan passed an ammendment to have districts decided by a separate panel made up of citizens with a mix of republican, democrat, and independent voters.
    • This panel has been a shit show, with poor attendance, delivered maps way behind schedule, and went over budget due to the increased time.
    • the panel’s proposed maps eliminated “majority minority” districts in Detroit. They also shifted the projected make up of the state from moderately republican leaning to slight to moderate democrat leaning.
    • This has pissed off both parties, republicans have had several failed attempts to block the maps. Black democrats are also mad because they lost their guaranteed seats.