Subject: Re: Gerrymandering sucks

For the most part, having an independent panel constructing voting districts ends up disfavoring the people in charge, who would rather have that power for themselves.

As noted before, Michigan runs purple on state wide votes. Redistricting was done by the state legislature. The GOP leveraged it's majority to impose a gerrymandered (a court said "gerrymandered to a historic degree") map that cemented their majority for 40 years, regardless how state wide votes for Gov, SecState, AG, and US Senator went.

In 2018, "we the people" had had enough, and voted, by a landslide, to amend the state constitution to hand redistricting to a bipartisan commission.

The GOP quickly organized a lame duck session to try to unwind the clear decision of the people.

from the net sifter:

In late 2018, Michigan Republican lawmakers used a lame-duck session to propose legislation aimed at restricting the newly approved Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Bills aimed to limit commissioner qualifications, impose strict partisan affiliation rules, and alter funding, though most of these efforts ultimately failed to pass

Key 2018 Lame Duck Actions & Context:

Targeting the Commission: Senate Bill 1254 was introduced to alter the voter-approved (61-39%) amendment that created the 13-person commission, aiming to add restrictions on who could serve, including limiting those with ties to political parties.

Result: The most stringent restrictions on the commission died in committee before the session ended, largely because of intense public pushback and legal doubts.

Broader Strategy: The efforts were part of a wider lame-duck strategy to limit the power of incoming Democratic officials, including the Secretary of State, who oversees the commission.

Budgetary Threats: Lawmakers also considered not fully funding the commission's implementation, aiming to hinder its function.

Background Information:

Michigan voters passed Proposal 2 in November 2018, which officially moved the power to draw district lines away from the legislature and to an independent commission.

The 2018 lame-duck session was characterized by observers as a "train wreck" or "disaster" due to the high volume of controversial, last-minute legislation, a common trend in Michigan's post-election periods

In my life, I have signed one petition. I was walking in to a car show in Ypsilanti, and passed a guy collecting petition signatures. I normally blow signature collectors off. I don't recall if it was a sign he had, or something he said, that caused me to twig it was about breaking the GOP gerrymander. When I did twig, my immediate response was "He!! yeah, I'll sign".

Currently, Dems hold the majority in one house in Lansing. The GOP has a majority in the other house. Both by narrow margins, more accurately reflecting the purple state.

Steve