Redistricting experts weigh in on results of first general election under new maps

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Clara Hendrickson
Detroit Free Press
December 1, 2022

Results from the first general election held under new maps drawn by Michigan's independent redistricting commission seemed to demonstrate that the group achieved its aim of drawing fair maps while underscoring Black Detroiters' concerns that they took a hit in the process, redistricting experts said during a panel Wednesday night.

The redistricting commission made up of randomly selected Democratic, Republican and independent voters charged with drawing congressional and state legislative districts in the state sought to bring an end to gerrymandering, the practice of drawing voting boundaries designed to benefit one political party.

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Democratic congressional and state legislative candidates received about 51% of the votes statewide while Republican candidates received about 49%, translating to a 7-6 Democratic majority in Michigan's congressional delegation, a 20-18 majority in the state Senate and 56-54 majority in the state House.

Before Michigan voters approved a ballot proposal to create the redistricting commission, a GOP effort called Project REDMAP targeted the state's mapping process to help bolster Republicans' electoral prospects in Congress and state Legislatures. Analyses deemed Michigan's GOP-drawn maps in place for the previous decade some of the most gerrymandered in the country.

"We were like a poster child for Project REDMAP and what happens when your politicians really have no shame in trying to grab as much power as you can," said Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, the group behind the constitutional amendment that established Michigan's redistricting commission.

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It's good that the commission will take into consideration Detroit's concerns when they meet again.

Full article

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. Republicans would love to create a few "guarangeed black rep" districts.

That way, the map can resemble the old method of gerrymandering. Pack a few districts with black voters (presumed Democrats), and give Repugs an advantage in neighboring districts.

Even that can fail. MI 3rd District should have elected a black representative. The Dem primary had Shri Thanadar running against half a dozen qualified black candidates. Shri (not black) won with maybe 30% of the vote. The rest of the votes were split among the roster of black candidates, so they all ended up with fewer votes than Shri. I don't think this is a districting problem, but there's no solution that I can see. We can't tell people not to run because they'll cause a vote split.