A three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court in Western Michigan ruled that seven contested Michigan House districts must be redrawn in the coming weeks. This is part of the ongoing legal challenge to the political districts that were drawn in 2020 by Michigan’s Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission (ICRC).
Following the census in 2020, new Congressional, State House, and State Senate districts were drawn by the Commission and used in the 2022 election. However, a lawsuit was filed challenging portions of the new State House and Senate maps in and around metro Detroit. In late December 2023, a three-judge panel from the U.S. District Court in Western Michigan ruled the Commission violated the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause when they drew racially gerrymandered legislative districts.
Key Points:
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- The ICRC has until February 2 to draw new House maps that will be available for public comment.
- While an earlier ruling in December also included six Senate districts that need to be redrawn, the Court is focusing on the House first due to the forthcoming election later this year.
- The Court has paused all elections in the contested seats until new maps are drawn and adopted.
- All 110 House seats are up for election this year. The filing deadline for August’s primary race is April 23, lending urgency to the matter.
- The Court will issue a formal opinion on redrawing the Senate seats at a later date.
The ruling impacts districts that are all currently held by Democratic members in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. The impacted districts are:
House:
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- District 1 – Representative Tyrone Carter
- District 7 – Representative Helena Scott
- District 8 – Representative. Mike McFall
- District 10 – Speaker of the House Joe Tate
- District 11 – Representative Veronica Paiz
- District 12 – Representative Kimberly Edwards
- District 14 – Representative Donovan McKinney
