The following letter was submitted for publication by St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald on behalf of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks ahead of the 2022 state primary and general election.
Voting
The suit claims the Cass County map establishing commissioner districts divides the City of Dowagiac unnecessarily, combining the city with multiple townships, diluting “the historical voting strength of the city’s minority population,” and skewing county commissioner districts disproportionately in favor of Republican candidates.
Several states are considering legislation that would increase penalties for threatening election officials, while others consider bills that would make it easier to prosecute people suspected of making said threats.
A bipartisan group of senators is exploring legislation to overhaul how Congress counts Electoral College votes, but backers of stalled voting rights legislation are lukewarm on the effort as a substitute.
Every Republican in the U.S. Senate and two Democrats on Wednesday night rejected a proposed change in the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, dealing a major blow to attempts in Congress to counter restrictive voting laws passed in the states.
Voting rights groups say the lawsuits are disingenuous attempts to make it more difficult for eligible voters, especially non-white voters in growing urban areas, to cast ballots.
Hundreds of Michigan cities and townships are at risk of losing all or a few of their polling places if a provision within the controversial, Republican-led “Secure MI Vote” petition was enacted, according to a new report from Progress Michigan. One provision would limit clerks from utilizing nonprofit properties (churches, places of worship, etc.) that were previously donated as polling spaces unless clerks bought them out. Churches and places of worship accounted for 20% of Michigan polling places in the 2020 election.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Friday approved nine proposed maps — three each for the state House, state Senate and congressional districts — but have opened the door for potentially introducing new maps proposed by individual commissioners down the road. The question now is if that’s allowed by the Michigan Constitution, and if it is, would those maps be held to the 45-day comment period standard?
A Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) meeting Wednesday was postponed after the commission received a death threat, according to spokesperson Edward Woods.
This year’s round of redistricting is already crumbling into partisanship and court challenges in multiple states, even as voters pay more attention than ever to new political maps that will shape elections for a decade
Add the Michigan Civil Rights Department director to the growing number of voices who say that the initial redistricting maps proposed by the state’s new independent panel violate the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.
A national gerrymandering project from Princeton University has graded Michigan’s 10 preliminary district maps headed for public comment after they were approved last week by the state’s independent citizens panel.
The former heads of both major Michigan political parties are joining forces to help Michigan become the next state to ratify a National Popular Vote (NPV) amendment. Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis and former Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer say it would make elections more fair and democratic by doing away with the current “winner-take-all” system for awarding electoral votes
The Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) has been working on drafting maps for the state Senate, House and congressional districts for several weeks, but the drafts that have been made public so far are far from the final product.
Some Michigan residents were among thousands rallying Saturday in the nation’s capital to protest a recent legislation they say suppresses voter rights, particularly for people of color and young people
Michigan’s redistricting commission began drafting new congressional and legislative maps on Friday and will do so through Oct. 8. This comes after the commission approved Thursday a process and schedule to draft the maps in a 10-2 vote.
A House panel released a new report on Friday that will help lawmakers craft legislation named after the late Georgia civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis that aims to protect voting rights across the United States.
The Michigan AFL-CIO drew up its own set of state legislative maps for the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) to consider before the panel begins crafting new U.S. House and state House and Senate district lines for the next 10 years.