Accountability

Detroit lawmakers to sue redistricting commission for maps that allegedly ‘disenfranchise black voters’

Published

3 years ago

January 7, 2022

A group of current and former lawmakers in Detroit are gearing up to sue the state redistricting commission over its new state legislative and congressional maps that they say disenfranchise black voters.

The new maps, which were approved by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission on December 28, appear to eliminate majority-black voting districts that run through Detroit, and decrease the number of majority- black districts on the House map. The new maps would go into effect this year and remain effective for the next ten years.

The lawsuit will allege violation of the U.S. Voting Rights Act and the Michigan Constitution of 1965, which make it unlawful to draw voting maps in a manner that is discriminatory. “I felt that it was imperative that we file a lawsuit immediately,” Rep. Tenisha Yancey (D) told Detroit Free Press.

The suit will seek to halt the implementation of the new maps and order the MICRC to re-draw them. The 13-member MICRC has issued a statement saying they trust their legal counsel and believe the new maps comply with the Voting Rights Act and the Michigan Constitution.

Terry A. Hurlbut

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Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.