Created Equal: Breaking down the new state House districts in metro Detroit

Just two years into Michigan’s experiment with citizen-drawn maps for the Legislature and Congress, a court-ordered redraw to address gerrymandering is finally finished for the state House, and voters will see the difference at the polls this spring and fall.  

What does this redraw mean for issues like voting rights, municipal and county representation, and other concerns that swirl around our democratic process?  

Ben Solis, a reporter at Gongwer News Service, and Colin Jackson, state capitol reporter for Michigan Public Radio Network, joined Created Equal on Wednesday to discuss the process, how successful it was and what the repercussions of the new maps might be.

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Guests:

Ben Solis is a reporter at Gongwer News Service. He says part of the redistricting criteria was to produce a fair set of districts that wouldn’t unfairly advantage Republican or Democratic candidates, and the new districts won’t impact Republican candidates much.

“They really only redrew Democratic districts, so we shouldn’t really see a change in party representation,” he said.

Colin Jackson is a state capitol reporter for Michigan Public Radio Network. He says the redistricting process had several bumps in the road that the 13-person commission had to address to balance the Voting Rights Act and the 14th amendment. 

“A lot of the main disagreements I saw between commissioners were over substantive issues,” said Jackson. “Most were working in what they believe to be the best interest of Michigan.” 

Read more: 

• Court OKs redistricting commission’s map for Detroit area House districts  
• Whitmer’s proposed budget and the state’s potential legislative maps
• Should our political maps be drawn based on geography or race? 

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.