Despite Supreme Court Ruling, Proposal 2 Still In Effect

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Despite a blow from the U.S. Supreme Court, anti-gerrymandering groups are pressing on to implement the Michigan voter initiative that gives redistricting power to an independent citizens’ commission. The high court ruled late last week federal judges can’t interfere with electoral maps drawn for partisan gain, which means Michigan’s districts will now remain in effect for the 2020 election. However, Nancy Wang with the group Voters not Politicians says the ruling doesn’t affect Proposal 2 and new, nonpartisan maps will be in place for the 2022 elections.

“Two-and-a-half million people from all across Michigan, all political parties, came together to protect our democracy and to make our government work for the people, and I can’t think of a thing that’s more patriotic than that.”

The new maps will use data from the 2020 Census, so accuracy is key. Also last week, the Supreme Court blocked adding a citizenship question to the census – which, if included, could cause an under-count in areas with high percentages of immigrant families.