MI Supreme Court Rules Gerrymandering Goes on November Ballot

Key Michigan Republicans, including Attorney General Bill Schuette, fought hard against the Campaign to put this Gerrymandering Change on the Ballot. They Lost.

A Proposal to Create a Bipartisan Commission to Draw Michigan's Political Lines, intended to stop Political Gerrymandering, will appear on the Nov. 6th Ballot, the Michigan Supreme Court Ruled.

The Ruling was a Major Victory to the Voters Not Politicians Group (VPN), which had gathered more than 400,000 Signatures in an effort to put the Proposal on the Ballot. The Proposal would shift the Responsibility for Drawing District Lines from the Party in Control of the Legislature to a 13-Member Bipartisan Commission.

"Because VNP’s proposal would leave the form and structure of the government essentially as it was envisioned in the 1963 Constitution, it was not equivalent to a new constitution and was therefore a permissible amendment," the Justices ruled in a 4-3 Decision.

The current Political Lines unfairly Favored Republicans, the Democrats argued. “We are thrilled that the Michigan Supreme Court has respected the will of the 425,000 Michiganders who signed a petition to place the Voters Not Politicians initiative on the ballot,” Kathay Feng, Common Cause National Redistricting Director, said in a Statement.

“This all-volunteer effort started so citizens could end a corrupt system in which self-interested politicians manipulate districts for political advantage behind closed doors. Now Michigan voters will have the opportunity to make their voices heard."

“This court case exposed the true role of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce: a front group for big corporations that prefer a rigged political system that works for them, no matter how much it hurts everyday people,” says Josh Silver, Director of Represent Us.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

AG Schuette Set to Fight Redistricting Proposal in MI Supreme Court

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette’s Office will Argue against a Proposal for an Independent Redistricting Commission Wednesday and ask the Michigan Supreme Court to keep the Measure off the November Ballot. The State’s Highest Court on Monday Granted Schuette’s Request for Solicitor General Aaron Lindstrom to Participate in the High-Stakes Arguments over the Voters Not Politicians Proposal.

Schuette, who is also a Candidate for Governor, filed the Brief last Month arguing the Redistricting Initiative proposes a Revision, "not a mere amendment," to the Michigan Constitution. Revisions require Approval through a Constitutional Convention, not the Statewide Ballot.

Lindstrom will get to use Five Minutes of the 30-Minute Bloc that had been Reserved for Attorneys from Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution, the Opposition Group that first asked the Supreme Court to Kill the Initiative that would Redefine the way Political Boundaries are Drawn in the State.

A Three-Judge Michigan Court of Appeals Panel Rejected similar Arguments in Early June, calling them “without merit.” The Proposal is “narrowly tailored” to Create a 13-Member Redistricting Commission, the Panel said in a Unanimous Ruling Appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a recent Brief requesting time for Oral Arguments, Schuette’s Office said the High Court could Benefit from Additional Focus on “the distinction” between an Amendment and Revision “and on the effect the proposal would have on the fundamental aspects of the structure of our government.” As Chief Law Enforcement Officer for Michigan, “the attorney general is responsible for presenting the interests of the people, which includes an interest in preserving the constitution’s distinction between amendments and revisions,” said the Brief submitted by Schuette.

The Supreme Court Case has Major Political Implications in Michigan, where Republicans Redrew Political Maps in 2011 under Current Rules allowing whichever Party is in Charge to Control the Process.

Democrats aren’t formally Endorsing the Proposal for an Independent Commission but regularly Complain about alleged GOP Gerrymandering. The State Party’s Former Chairman is the Lead Attorney in a separate Federal Lawsuit Challenging the Fairness of the Current Maps.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on Friday filed a Brief urging the Michigan Supreme Court to Put the Voters Not Politicians Proposal on the Ballot. The Group Collected an estimated 394,092 Valid Signatures for the Initiative, which was Certified by the Board of State Canvassers in June.

The Proposal “plainly does not entail a comprehensive reexamination or recodification of the entire constitution,” wrote ACLU Attorneys Andrew Nickelhoff and Mami Kato, Dismissing the “General Revision” Argument. “The right to amend the constitution by initiative, once granted by the Michigan Constitution, also is protected core political speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Oral Arguments at the High Court are set to begin July 18th, Wednesday at 9:30am. Supporters and Opponents will each have 30 Minutes to make their Case before the Court, which has a 5-2 Majority of Republican-Nominated or Appointed Justices.

Justice Kurtis Wilder last Week joined Justice Beth Clement in Disclosing that the Treasurer for their Re-Election Campaigns is Married to an Attorney Fighting the Ballot Proposal, former Michigan Republican Party General Counsel Eric Doster. The Justices both said they did not think the Personal Connection warranted Voluntary Recusal, and Attorneys for Voters Not Politicians have not asked them to Sit Out the Case.

“Mr. Doster has not been consulted by me, Mary Doster, or my campaign committee for legal advice or anything else related to my campaign,” Wilder said in a Statement distributed to Attorneys by the Michigan Supreme Court Clerk.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

MI Court Orders Redistricting Measure to Be on Ballot

The Michigan Court of Appeals cleared the way for a Measure against Political Gerrymandering to go on the November Ballot.

The Measure would Change the way the State Draws its Political District Lines, by Empowering an Independent 13-Person Commission to Redraw Congressional and Legislative Districts.

The Court Rejected an Opposition group's request to keep the Proposal Off the Ballot.

The Conservative group, Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution, argued that the Redistricting Measure proposed by the Voters Not Politicians Group rewrote the State's Constitution.

Judges Mark Cavanagh, Kirsten Frank Kelly, and Karen Fort Hood, though, Disagreed with the Opposition group in a 3-0 ruling, writing that their Lawsuit "is without merit." "The petition is not a general revision of the constitution, where it is narrowly tailored to address a single subject," they added.

They Ruled that the Amendment proposed by the Ballot Committee Voters Not Politicians would introduce New Concepts to the Constitution but would not "modify or interfere with the fundamental operation of government."

The Court ordered the Board of State Canvassers to Certify the Petition for the General Election.

The Conservative group said it plans to Appeal the Decision to the Supreme Court.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker