On Tuesday, Dec. 28, the state’s independent redistricting commission approved three new maps revealing districts for state House, Senate and Congressional races starting in 2022.
The maps represent the culmination of numerous months of work under the redistricting commission, which was led by independent citizens and not the legislature. Voters approved the redistricting process in 2018.
Pending potential lawsuits, as has been broadly threatened by various partisan groups, the new maps will stand for 10 years.
Michigan currently has 14 Congressional districts. The state loses one district in 2022 due to the recent census count and slower population growth. Shiawassee County moves away from Congressional district 4 and into newly outlined district 7 with Livingston, Ingham, Clinton and most of Eaton County, along with small portions of Oakland and Genesee Counties.
The new Congressional map is quite different from the current map. The redistricting commission determined districts based on a mission of partisan fairness, looking at communities of interest and other implications of the 1960s voting rights act. The new uneven number of districts will see one party claim a majority of Congressional seats for Michigan.
The new Congressional district 7 will see current U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) run against state Sen. Tom Barrett, a Republican. Both have announced plans to run.
The new state Senate maps show a near-even redistricting split where the current map has favored Republicans with a 22-16 seat split. The new map will split Lansing and East Lansing into two separate districts. Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids will also be split into two districts.
The Michigan House map, currently controlled by Republicans with a seat split of 58-52, in a similar path to the Senate map, will be divided based more on partisan fairness, hopefully resulting in more competitive races. The largest nearby difference is in Flint. The city of Flint will now become a single House district.
