LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A three-judge panel has ruled that Michigan’s congressional and legislative maps are unconstitutionally gerrymandered, ordering the state Legislature to redraw at least 34 districts for the 2020 election.
The decision issued Thursday also requires special state Senate elections to be held in 2020, instead of 2022 as scheduled.
The judges say the maps drawn by Republicans in 2011 violate Democratic voters’ constitutional rights, including by diluting the weight of their votes. They are giving the GOP-led Legislature until Aug. 1 to submit new maps. The new maps would need the signature of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
