Michigan commission asks Supreme Court to let it use Detroit-area legislative maps deemed unconstitutional

The commission asked Justice Brett Kavanaugh to pause an order issued last month by a three-judge federal panel blocking the use of the Detroit-area maps in future Michigan state House and Senate elections. The commission also asked Kavanaugh to pause a redrawing process of the maps that’s currently underway “pending applicants’ forthcoming appeal to this Court” of the judges’ ruling.

“In configuring Detroit-area districts, the Commission did everything this Court’s Voting Rights Act (VRA) and racial-gerrymandering precedents signals is necessary for voluntary VRA compliance, and it was not possible to do more than the Commission did,” attorneys for the commission told the conservative justices.

The emergency request was directed to Kavanaugh because he oversees matters arising from the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes the state of Michigan.

The maps were challenged by a group of Black voters in the Democratic-heavy Detroit area who argued that the commission engaged in impermissible racial gerrymandering when it drew the maps in 2021.

The panel of judges in Michigan agreed, saying in a lengthy ruling last month that the commission, which relied on expert advice in redrawing the maps, violated the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause when it created the maps.

“The record here shows overwhelmingly – indeed, inescapably – that the Commission drew the boundaries of plaintiffs’ districts predominantly on the basis of race,” the panel said in its decision.

The group of voters challenging the maps have been asked to respond to the emergency request by January 17.

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