Electoral redistricting by an allotted citizens commission in Michigan

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Yoram Gat

The Monroe News from Michigan reports:

Applicants sought for Michigan redistricting panel

The Secretary of State’s office recently sent 250,000 randomly selected Michigan voters applications to serve on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The 13-member commission will be responsible for drawing the boundaries for the state’s Senate and House of Representatives districts. It also will design the districts for the congressional delegation.

The commission is being formed as a result of the passage of Proposal 2 in November 2018. The ballot measure amended the state constitution to grant the authority to an independent citizen commission, taking the power away from the state’s governor and the Legislature.

Proposal 2 passed statewide 2,522,355- 1,593,556.

The commission will be composed of four Democrats, four Republicans and five voters who do not identify with either party. Districts are redrawn every 10 years in response to the U. S. Census, which will be conducted this year.

Per the proposal, the secretary of state’s office is required to mail out the applications to at least 10,000 randomly selected voters. Troy-based Rehmann LLC handled the selection process.

Residents within the state who weren’t part of the random mailing also may apply for the commission.

Filed under: Applications, Ballot measures, Elections, Press, Sortition |

4 Responses

Nicholas Gruen, on January 4, 2020 at 1:25 pm said:

I see this as significant. One of the great strengths of sortition based bodies is that they can provide an alternative way to deliver ‘independence’ of party politics. This has typically been done by appointing ‘independent’ officers who then have some constitutionally protected independence – whether formally or via ‘tradition’. But this system has already broken down on the US Supreme Court and at a time of growing impatience with the political class, I think this kind of development can help showcase the potential of sortition.

Of course, it’s also melded with the existing system, so it’s a hybrid. Still, I’m unaware of such hybrids going badly. People tend to speak of the hybrid citizens/politicians’ chamber in Ireland as a success. But others here will be able to set me straight if they think I’m mistaken.

What other experiences are there and how have they gone?

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Yoram Gat, on January 24, 2020 at 9:32 am said:

https://thesuntimesnews.com/1000-successfully-completed-and-notarized-applications-processed-for-independent-citizens-redistricting-commission/

LANSING — The first 1,000 successfully completed and notarized applications to serve on the first-ever Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission have been received and processed by the Michigan Department of State.

200 semifinalists must be randomly selected from the pool, sixty of whom must affiliate with the Democratic Party, 60 with the Republican Party, and 80 must not affiliate with either party. Half of these semifinalists must be recipients of the random mailing.

The final citizen commission, once selected, will be made up of four voters who affiliate with the Democratic Party, four who affiliate with the Republican Party, and five who do not affiliate with either major party.

Under the new constitutional provision, voters assigned the Secretary of State the responsibility of administering the application and selection process of commissioners, as well as providing administrative support to the commission once formed. The commission itself will be an autonomous body.

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Citizens allotted for drawing electoral districts in Michigan | Equality by lot, on August 23, 2020 at 5:29 am said:

[…] Back in January it was reported that Michigan has sent out invitations to voters to apply to serve on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. 13 citizens have now been selected to serve on the commission “charged with drawing new district lines for members of the state House and Senate”. […]

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How should democracy work? Assemblies versus juries – Freedom and Corruption, on November 28, 2020 at 2:04 pm said:

[…] such as reviewing executive performance or overseeing sortitional and electoral processes (as in Michigan’s recent redistricting reform), not on the basis of their representativeness or deliberative-democratic credentials, but in order […]

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