Michigan has announced the 13 citizens who will be in charge of redrawing Michigan’s congressional and legislative boundaries for the next decade, drawing their names in a random selection process on Monday.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is made of four Democrats, four Republicans and four people not associated with either party.
The state received more than 9,000 applications, from which it then randomly selected 200 semifinalists. The legislature then struck 20 applicants from the list, leaving 180 finalists. The state then randomly drew 13 commissioners from these finalists. The state used a computer program to randomize its selection.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Committee was created by a November 2018 amendment to Michigan’s constitution.
“This is truly a historic date for Michigan’s democracy…” said Michigan Assistant Secretary of State Heaster Wheeler during the drawing ceremony. “This commission of randomly selected Michigan citizens will fairly and transparently redraw our election districts for state legislature and the federal House of Representatives before the 2022 election cycle.
The Democrats named to the commission were Dustin Witjes, 31, of Ypsilanti; M. Rothhorn, 42, of Lansing; and Juanita Curry, 72, and Brittni Kellom, 34, of Detroit.
The Republicans were Erin Wagner, 54, of Charlotte; Cynthia Orton, 55, of Battle Creek; Douglas Clark, 73, of Rochester Hills; and Rhonda Lange, 48, of Reed City.
The Independents were Janice Vallette, 68, of Highland Twp; James Decker, 59, of Fowlerville; Richard Weiss, 73, of Saginaw; Steven Lett, 73, of Interlochen; and Anthony Eid, 27, of Orchard Lake.
The commission will begin meeting in the fall of 2020 and will be required to enact district maps no later than November 1, 2021. They will receive roughly $40,000 each for their work.
Read more about the commission and view the commissioners’ applications here.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter at The Michigan Star and Star News Digital Media. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.
