The impact in Michigan is “a tale of two systems” due to its redistricting structure, says Melinda Billingsley, with “Voters Not Politicians” - a nonpartisan advocacy organization that championed the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
The 13-member bipartisan board is authorized to draw state legislative and congressional district maps.
“Unlike other redistricting systems, Michigan system actually gives voters the opportunity to advocate for their communities to stay together and also to submit their own maps that show how communities form and how they have shared cultural or historical significance and shared interests that would mean it makes more sense for them to stay together in a district.”
However, Billingsley says at the county or city level, districts are drawn locally, and the federal ruling makes it more difficult for voters to seek legal recourse if they feel districts have been gerrymandered.
“For example, in Grand Rapids, you have a wonderful Hispanic community. But if we lose the protection of wards, it is possible that Hispanic voters are no longer able to elect the candidate of their choice, and without the protections of Section 2 of the VRA, they won't have the same kind of legal recourse to correct that and as a result, that community loses representation.”
Billingsley notes that even if the ruling doesn’t immediately change maps at congressional or state levels, voters lose the ability to hold elected officials accountable at the ballot box.
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