Kevin Deegan-Krause held up an oddly shaped Lego creation last week and asked a crowd of about 150 people in Plymouth, “Can a creepy lizard threaten democracy?” His red and blue depiction of the sprawling 14th Congressional District didn’t look like a creepy lizard. His son thinks it looks like a saxophone, while his daughter says it resembles an assault rifle — even including an open spot for a trigger where Farmington has been carved out of the district. The Lego blocks may not look like the Massachusetts congressional district drawn in 1812 that spawned the term gerrymander — that district looked like a salamander and was combined with the name of the Massachusetts governor at the time, Elbridge Gerry. But Deegan-Krause’s teaching tool is a pretty accurate representation of the 14th Congressional District and a classic example of how gerrymandering is happening in Michigan.
The Wayne State University political science professor has joined an effort — the Voters Not Politicians Ballot Committee — that is hoping to get a proposal on the 2018 ballot that will change the way legislative districts are drawn for state and federal offices.
“Voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around,” he said at the Plymouth town hall meeting, one of 35 held around the state in recent weeks to educate and recruit volunteers for the ballot proposal effort.
After the U.S. Census is taken of the nation’s population every 10 years, legislative districts are redrawn at the county, state and federal level to reflect population shift. In Michigan, state and federal district lines are drawn by the Legislature and in the last two redistricting cycles, Republicans have been in control of the state House, Senate and governor’s office, resulting in maps that have given a distinct advantage to GOP candidates.
Full Article: Redistricting debate: Creepy lizard or compact lines?.