A new federal lawsuit alleges political district maps drawn by Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature discriminate against Democratic voters to protect GOP majorities at the state Capitol and in Congress. Former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer filed the suit Friday on behalf of the Michigan League of Women Voters and various Democrats, including former state Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Fred Durhal Jr. of Detroit. The complaint contends 2011 maps drawn by Republicans represent a “particularly egregious example of party gerrymandering,” whereby a party in power draws districts to give itself an advantage in elections.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, the state’s top election officer. It claims Michigan maps were “developed in a private, secret process” and violate free speech, association and equal protection rights of Democratic voters.
“Partisan gerrymandering inverts the Constitutional order by allowing those in power to treat voters as pawns to be shuffled back and forth based on their political allegiances, manipulating the electoral process in order to preserve and enhance the controlling party’s power,” says the complaint.
Michigan Republicans say the 2011 district maps were designed in accordance with established state law and the federal Voting Rights Act.
Full Article: Federal suit alleges GOP ‘gerrymandering’ in Michigan.