LANSING, MI - Thirteen of Michigan’s House and Senate districts require new maps after a new federal court order, which also orders no more elections in the current districts until maps are redrawn.
The three judges from the U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan ruled the recently-redrawn maps are in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to the Dec. 21 order.
The Secretary of State may not hold further elections in the current districts, wrote Judges Raymond Kethledge, Paul Maloney and Janet Neff in their Thursday ruling.
“We enjoin the Secretary of State from holding further elections in these districts as they are currently drawn,” the order states, “and we will direct that the parties appear before this court in early January to discuss how to proceed with redrawing them.”
The ruling could have implications on the 2024 election by drawing new boundaries for districts and influencing which party controls the State Legislature. The following districts are affected:
- House District 1: Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit
- House District 7: Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit
- House District 8: Rep. Mike McFall, D-Hazel Park
- House District 10: House Speaker Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit
- House District 11: Rep. Veronica Paiz, D-Harper Woods
- House District 12: Rep. Kimberly Edwards, D-Eastpointe
- House District 14: Rep. Donavan McKinney, D-Detroit
- Senate District 1: Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor
- Senate District 3: Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit
- Senate District 6: Sen. Mary Cavanagh, D-Redford Township
- Senate District 8: Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak
- Senate District 10: Sen. Paul Wojno, D-Warren
- Senate District 11: Sen. Veronica Klinefelt, D-Eastpointe
The 20-plaintiff lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was initially filed in March 2022, accusing the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of drawing racially gerrymandered districts, thus reducing the power and representations of Black voters that live there.
Read more: Racial gerrymandering suit goes to trial, jeopardizing Michigan’s legislative maps
The redistricting commission and the Democratic plaintiffs who challenged the maps have until Jan. 2 to submit how they will redraw districts, the order states.
Kethledge, Maloney and Neff said the commission used input that was based on incomplete Black voting data for primary elections that would ensure a “Black-preferred candidate” could make it through the primary.
“Yet these experts told the commissioners again and again− based on general election data alone − that black-preferred candidates would ‘perform well’ in these districts,” the order states. “That was a grave disservice to everyone involved with this case, above all the voters themselves.”
The courts could accept newly-proposed maps, order outside help to redraw boundaries or give the redistricting commission another change to redraw maps.
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