- The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Michigan's redistricting commission to overturn an order to redistrict 13 seats in the Detroit-area Legislature.
- The commission challenged a December ruling by a federal appeals court panel that found Michigan's legislative maps drawn in 2021 were unlawfully influenced by race.
- The panel ordered seven state House districts to be redrawn for the 2024 elections, with a later deadline for six state Senate districts.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a request by Michigan's redistricting commission to overturn an order to redistrict 13 Detroit-area seats in the Legislature, a decision that will likely make legislative maps more competitive.
The redistricting commission had asked the high court to overturn a December ruling by a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court that Michigan's legislative maps were illegally influenced by race when they were drawn in 2021. The panel ruled that, although nearly 80% of Detroit residents are black, the black voting-age population in the 13 Detroit-area districts ranges mostly between 35% and 45%, with one as high as 19%.
The panel ordered the boundaries of the state's seven House districts to be redrawn for the 2024 elections, and set a later deadline for the state's six Senate districts because senators' terms do not expire until 2026.
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The draft state House map is due by February 2 and the final deadline is March 29.
The Michigan Capitol is seen in Lansing, Michigan. On January 22, 2024, the United States Supreme Court denied a request by Michigan's redistricting commission to vacate an order to reapportion 13 Detroit-area seats in the Legislature, a decision that will likely make the more competitive legislative maps. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
The Supreme Court did not explain its decision in the order released Monday. Lawyers for the commission immediately responded to emails seeking comment.
John Bursch, an attorney for Detroit voters who sued the commission, said they were “very pleased” with the order. Bursch said the commission could still appeal, but called the Supreme Court's order “a strong indicator that such an appeal will likely fail.”
Although it is unknown how the new maps will be drawn, there will likely be an increase in the number of “Detroit-centric” districts that would be solidly Democratic, said David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University in Michigan. This would likely affect suburban districts, which would become more competitive as a result, he said.
“You could see that these districts, or even a subset of them, are really where the fight is for control of the state House,” Dulio said.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office had supported the commission's request to the Supreme Court in recent days. She wrote in a document that the Democrat was concerned about having new district lines for the August primary.
“My commitment to maintaining fair and secure elections remains steadfast, and I look forward to working with our clerks in the coming months to ensure everyone is ready and prepared to administer safe and accessible elections this year,” Benson said in a statement Monday.
Michigan Democrats were able to flip the state House and Senate in 2022 while retaining the governor's office, giving them full control of state government for the first time in 40 years. The party's success was attributed, in part, to legislative maps that were redrawn in 2021 by an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
State lawmakers drew the boundaries for Michigan seats in Congress and the Legislature until voters in 2018 created an independent commission to handle the once-a-decade job. The commission's first maps were drawn for the 2022 elections.
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Experts repeatedly told the redistricting commission in 2021 that certain race-related percentages were necessary to comply with federal law. However, the appeals court judges disagreed.
“The record here shows overwhelmingly – indeed, inescapably – that the commission drew the boundaries of plaintiffs' districts predominantly on the basis of race. We maintain that those districts were drawn in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Constitution of the United States,” said Judge Raymond. Kethledge wrote.
The redistricting process had reduced the number of majority-minority districts in the Legislature from 15 to five, according to the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University.
In the 2022 midterm elections, the first since redistricting, the number of Black lawmakers in the Legislature dropped from 20 to 17. Predominantly Black Detroit was left without Black representation in Congress for the first time since early from the 1950s.
