Z Online Class: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
In November 2018, 61% of Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment to move the power of drawing election districts from the legislature, into the hands of an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). The MICRC worked from September 2020 to March 2022, and the maps it drew were first used for elections in 2022. The work of the MICRC has been reviewed formally by courts and academic commentators, and informally by many others. However, the first true test was the November 2022 election. Did any “gerrymandering” appear? Did the results of the Commission’s work reflect the seven priorities stated in the Michigan Constitution, from the first “equal population” mandate, to respecting all federal laws including the Voting Rights Act? Are the new districts “reasonably compact”? Importantly, how have members of the public reacted to the results of the Commission’s work? Join us as our presenter discusses these and other important questions.
Margaret A. Leary received a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. from Eastern Michigan University, and a J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law. She taught at the University of Michigan Law School, and was director of the university’s Law Library from 1984 to 2011.