The MML Review March-April 2022

in Michigan’s New Redistricting Process

By Edward Woods III

T

Public Input On a recent Michigan Municipal League Live with the League show, Commission Chair Rebecca Szetela, an independent member, discussed the redistricting process, public input, and the resulting new maps. “We received nearly 30,000 public comments and I actually read every one of them,” Szetela said on Live with the League . “It was great, we had really good participation. Our goal was to have 10,000 public comments and we more than doubled that.”

he Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) recently adopted maps for Michigan’s Congressional, State Senate,

and State House districts. For the first time in Michigan’s history, the MICRC, led by citizens and not politicians, drew the lines in an amicable and public engagement process that included nearly 30,000 comments. The commission included four members who affiliated as Democrats, five people who affiliated as neither Democrats or Republicans and commonly known as Independents, and four members who affiliated as Republicans.

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THE REVIEW