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Redistricting Michigan in the News!
Judge Raymond Kethledge asked Eid about the commission's decision to pair Birmingham with Detroit in state House and Senate districts. Eid responded by saying that the commission had to follow a data-driven process. "Maps that are this shape had to be drawn," he said. Judge Paul Maloney followed Kethledge to ask Eid if he considers Senate District 8 to be a district that provides an opportunity for Black voters to elect their preferred candidates. Eid said that the data shows that's the case. (Read Freep Article Here)
""The former chair of Michigan’s independent redistricting commission told a federal courtroom Wednesday that race was the dominating factor in determining how metro Detroit legislative districts were drawn." (Read the Bridge Article Here)
Rebecca Szetela, a commissioner on Michigan's Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, told the three-judge panel in Kalamazoo that race and a poorly researched goal to lower the percentage of Black voters in Metro Detroit districts became a driving factor for the commission's consultants and, by extension, the commission itself.
The end result, she said, were "spaghetti noodle" districts that stretched between majority-Black Detroit and its White suburbs and ultimately diluted the Black vote. "It was 100% about race," Szetela said. (Read DetNews Article Here)
This looks like something out of Alabama in the 1960s," Trende said. He said under the commission's maps, Detroit's Black caucus could dwindle to a number that could fit in the back of a "taxi" in the state Senate and an "Uber XL" in the state House. (Read DetNews Article Here)
Evidence continues to reveal as published by DetNews: Panel was playing dice lowering black voter numbers in Detroit districts, analyst says! (Read DetNew Article Here)
Federal Lawsuit Over Michigan's Legislative Maps Heads to Trial (Democracy Docket)
“It has been a sad display of ridiculousness to see what’s happening within our community when it comes to making sure that black representation matters,” said plaintiff Natalie BIEN-AIME, who attended more than 20 MICRC meetings in an effort to have her voice heard.
“… The maps crack all our communities of color, diluting our voice, our vote. It has weakened our strategic opportunity to have representation in the city of Detroit,” she added. Detroit Blacks Fight Back After Democrats Throw Them Under Redistricting Bus, The Ballenger Report
Activist Say New Districts Dilute the Black Vote, Hilary Golston, Fox 2 New Detroit
Democracy Dockett: After Unprecedented Defiance, Alabama Finally Has a Fair Congressional Map for 2024
BridgeDetroit: Do Michigan's political maps dilute Power of Black voters? Trial will decide
DetNews: Former Lawmakers Speak Against Michigan Redistricting Commission before federal trial.
The Michigan Vibe: Concerns raised over new voting districts diminishing the black vote
How the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alabama's Allen v. Milligan (Alabama) will impact ongoing redistricting litigation, Democracy Dockett Madeleine Greenberg, Rachel Selzer
"The commission is accused of knowingly and deliberately creating districts that violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the U.S. Constitution, and thereby eliminating Black representation in Detroit". DetNews, Black Representation Still Matters in Detroit, Karen Dumas
Detroit Redistricting Dispute Heads to Trial amid claims of racial gerrymandering, CBS News 20, Darren Cunningham
Federal Judges Skeptical of Michigan Redistricting Panel's Maps, Ballenger Report: Michigan Legislative Maps May Violate Voting Rights Act, Says Three Judge Panel, Ballenger Report
Following the 2022 election, there are 14 Black state representatives in the Michigan House and three Black State Senators. Redistricting contributed to lower Black representation in the State Senate, while Black representation in the State House and the US Congressional delegation remained consistent. However, the City of Detroit lost black congressional representation for the first time since 1955. Redistricting's effect on Black Representation in Michigan, MSU Institute for Public Policy, Angelina Benli and Lexie Milukhin
Understanding Redistricting, VRA, and the 14th Amendment, , Sherry Gay-Dagnogo M.Ed. BlackLeadershipMatters.org
Michigan House of Representatives 2022 Maps
Michigan Senate 2022 Maps
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