As the 2024 elections approached, former governors Steve Bullock (D-MT) and John Kasich (R-OH) modeled speaking and listening across political and policy fault lines. The talk was organized by the Ford School with support from the University of...
Students working with the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) have created a system to help a Michigan commission collect and analyze public comments about drawing Michigan’s congressional and state legislative...
Detroit Free Press: "'I think Michigan is going to play a very important poster child role moving forward,' said Moon Duchin, a mathematician at Tufts University who helped Michigan's commission review mapping input during the redistricting...
In the aftermath of the first election that used newly-drawn districts in Michigan, created by an independent citizen’s commission, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy and the Program in Practical Policy Engagement hosted a Policy Talk to...
The results of the 2022 elections in Michigan were marked by a narrow Democratic sweep of all the major statewide offices and both houses of the state legislature. The election is also notable for its use of new districts that were drawn for the...
John Chamberlin, Sinclair Broadcast Group: "People weren’t used to really having a race. They went on a walk. In the past, when the Republicans [directed redistricting] – and if the Democrats would’ve done it, they would’ve done the same – is to,...
Jonathan Hanson, Michigan Advance: "There’s going to be a lot of competitive races in new districts. I find that lack of predictability very refreshing. … I’m just ready to see what...
The effect of redistricting will be a major topic as the results of the 2022 elections are analyzed in the weeks and months ahead. In some states, districts were drawn by partisan legislatures; in others those maps were challenged in the courts with...
Local officials in Michigan have rendered a mixed verdict on the state's new constitutionally mandated approach to redrawing electoral maps with the goal of reducing gerrymandering and promoting fairer elections.
Only 24% of local officials are...
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission recently released the newly-drawn district maps. Democrats are liking what they see, predicting the maps give them the best chance in decades to win a majority in the state Senate.
"It's...
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) is nearing the end of its work to draft new maps in an effort to end partisan gerrymandering.
The mission was straightforward—use an independent commission instead of the state...
Michigan's redistricting commission is not allowed to consider incumbency as it redraws the state's districts. John Chamberlin told Bloomberg Government that the headaches it's causing for both major parties means it is working.
“A bloodbath for...
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is being sued for not meeting deadlines, even though the census data they need to redraw districts has been delayed.
"It would have been as a sort of Herculean task to do all the work...
John Chamberlin, Ford School professor emeritus of public policy and political science, says a recent controversy in Lansing calls out the need for increased transparency when it comes to lawmakers. A Michigan state representative is proposing a law...
As the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission begins its work, Michigan citizens are being called upon to help with the process. John Chamberlin, professor emeritus of public policy and political science, explained how the new...
Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) and the Ford School’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) are collaborating to educate and assist Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting...
With the loss of a congressional district as a result of the most recent census, Michiganders have been left guessing what the new districts will look like. Most likely, districts will become more competitive for the upcoming midterm elections, but...
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Michigan will drop from 14 congressional seats to 13 due to sluggish population growth since the last count in 2010. “It does reduce the state’s influence and ability to get things done; not by a lot, but a little...
New 2020 Census data means the loss of a Michigan Congressional seat, and redrawing the district lines will happen through a new citizen-driven process. "The process this year is radically different than the past," said John Chamberlin. "The public...
Michigan’s local government leaders reported mixed familiarity with the state’s new approach to redistricting, according to a 2020 survey whose results were released today by the the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the...
"Absent some kind of other intervention, it's most likely that commissioners will hear from folks who are well-funded with lobbyists," Ivacko said.
Read the full Detroit News article on U-M's work to clarify the meaning of 'communities of...
An Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will redraw state and federal legislative districts in Michigan in 2021 with a mandate: The districts must reflect the state's diverse population and communities of interest.
The requirement is one...
District lines are a hotly debated and inherently partisan issue, but Michigan courts have sought to address these biases. On Thursday, April 25, Michigan judges unanimously ruled that “GOP insiders illegally gerrymandered dozens of state and...
With Michigan’s upcoming election, commentary around the ballot’s Proposal 2, which would establish a citizen’s commission responsible for creating voting district lines, has run the gamut. In the October 10, 2018, piece for Bridge titled “5...
Two Ford School faculty members were quoted in a December 7, 2017 article from the Battle Creek Enquirer, titled “Joe Schwarz champions push to end gerrymandering.”
Former congressman and long-time Ford School lecturer Joe Schwarz is advocating...
It was the summer of 1971 when the first mandated round of redistricting was taking place across the nation. A series of Supreme Court decisions in the '60s had directed states to create new legislative districts every ten years to reflect...
CLOSUP Lecture Series,
Policy Talks @ the Ford School
Michigan's new approach to redistricting by an independent citizens commission has now come full circle, from signature gathering for the statewide ballot initiative in 2018, to strong statewide support in that fall's election, creation of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, their work drawing new districts with extraordinary input from Michigan citizens, and now the new districts being used for the first time in the 2022 elections. Join us for a final webinar in our redistricting series, to look back at this consequential change in state policy and to review how this new approach played out this fall, including its impacts on races and election outcomes, and how it compares to experiences in other states.
Public meetings of the Michigan Citizens Independent Redistricting Commissioners with agenda to include racially polarized voting analysis, Voting Rights Act analysis, and map drawing for State Senate districts for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties.
Hear from a panel of redistricting experts and commissioners sharing lessons learned, tips, and plans, as the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission prepares for fair and effective public hearings scheduled for May and June.
