Michigan's redistricting panel could vote on new district maps as soon as this week

LANSING, Mich. - After months of debate and public input, Michigan's redistricting commission is scheduled to deliberate on more than a dozen of proposed maps that could define the next 10 years of politics in the state.

On Tuesday, the 13-member panel will consider 15 map proposals that outline district boundaries for Michigan state House, Senate, and Congressional races. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday.

It hasn't been an easy road for the commission, which recently lost a court case against media groups that sued to see memos exchanged between the commission members and their legal counsel. They've also needed to contend with accusations of drawing district boundaries along racial and political lines.

Michigan is the latest state to wade into a more bipartisan form of redistricting, following the 2018 approval of a ballot measure that passed the duty of redrawing district boundaries onto citizens, instead of the controlling party in Lansing.

A list of the proposed maps can be reviewed here.

The commission will meet 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. More info on the meetings can be found here. 

In anticipation of the deliberations, some representatives worry the redrawing could nullify minority voices by diluting the percentage of Black voters in districts are planning on rallying against the proposed maps. 

Detroit state Senator Adam Hollier and Representative Tenisha Yancey are scheduled to discuss his concerns Tuesday at 9 a.m. "We are imploring the commission to be deliberate and intentional with their adaptation of maps drawn to reflect majority black districts. We know majority black districts can be drawn because the Detroit Branch NAACP has done it. We cannot go back to 1965 when there were less than 5 black members of the legislature."