The past month saw a ruling by the Federal District Court that could have a significant impact on the 2024 State House elections, giving pro-small business legislators a chance at winning majority. This is a glimmer of hope for small business owners who have been discouraged by the anti-free enterprise policies being passed in Lansing.

Redistricting in the Past

In conjunction with the US Census every 10 years, every state draws new electoral districts to ensure that population numbers as set in the state and federal constitutions are consistent. In the past, the majority party in each chamber would work to draw the maps according keeping with standards set in previous court cases and various federal laws.  These maps would need to have legislative and gubernatorial approval.

Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (Voters Not Politicians)

In 2018, Michigan voters voted to adopt a constitutional amendment that implemented the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC).  This commission is charged with drawing the political boundaries for the State legislature and U.S. Congressional districts for Michigan after each census.  The 13 members of the commission were picked from thousands of applicants across the state and comprised of 4 individuals who identified as republican, four who identified as democratic, and five members who did not affiliate with either political party.

The constitutional amendment laid out certain standards that the MICRC were required to follow including political parity (50/50 between Dem and GOP voters) and communities of interest.  They are also required to follow federal standards that include the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).

It should be noted that NFIB members opposed the constitutional amendment in 2018.  Read more HERE.

Unconstitutional Maps

To achieve political parity in as many legislative seats as possible, the MICRC diluted urban areas leading to the lowest amount of majority black districts.  (These maps are also largely credited with helping legislative Democrats obtain a majority in both the Senate and House for the first time since the early 1980s.)

The old maps had fifteen majority-Black districts with the new maps only having seven.

Because of this, in March 2022 a group of Detroit voters filed suit against the MICRC claiming the new maps violated the VRA. The lawsuit made its way to the federal court of appeals where a three-judge panel in late 2023 determined that 13 state legislative districts (six in the Senate and seven in the House) in and around the city of Detroit are unconstitutional because they violated the VRA.

New (Better?) Maps in 2024

Because the State House is up for reelection in 2024 (the Senate will stand for election in 2026), the court ordered the MICRC to draft new House maps by February 2, 2024.   The MICRC has had much internal drama including the resignation of 3 members in the past month, so there is a chance that a “special master” appointed by the Court will end up drafting the maps.

While the districts that were ordered to be redrawn are in the city of Detroit, there will be ripple effects for districts that surround them likely reaching into Macomb, Oakland, and Monroe counties.  There will be efforts to limit the impact to the metro Detroit area so most of the state will remain the same.  However, the changes in southeast Michigan will change the makeup of the state legislature in future elections.