Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission

Michigan’s redistricting commission says it’s already spent around 430-thousand-dollars since running out of money in October

Michigan’s redistricting commission is suing the state legislature for a little over 3-million-dollars in funding

On an 8-3 vote, they approved a roughly $3,900 increase to nearly $60,000, describing it as a cost-of-living adjustment to account for high inflation.

Lawyer said the suit will request that the justices order the commissioners to pass a new plan.

The lawsuit seeks to have some boundaries redrawn because the maps reduce the number of seats where Black residents account for a majority of the voting-age population.

The lawsuit alleges a new commission that drew the 13-seat map arbitrarily and inconsistently applied redistricting criteria outlined in the state constitution.

The new 12th District includes portions of Detroit and suburbs including Dearborn and Southfield. Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, said the seat has nearly two-thirds of people she currently represents.

The suit will allege violations of the U.S. Voting Rights Act and the state constitution. The No. 1 map-drawing criteria for the panel was to comply with the 1965 law, which bans discriminatory voting practices and procedures.

Under the current map, Republicans would win an extra 15.2% of seats in a hypothetical tied election. Their edge drops to 2.8% under the new plan based on an analysis of 2016, 2018 and 2020 election data, according to PlanScore, a project of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. The GOP has controlled the chamber for nearly 40 years.

The commission had argued that attorney-client privilege should give it privacy over the Oct. 27 meeting.