The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is a 13-member panel of randomly selected residents that draws the state’s congressional, state Senate, and state House district lines. Voters created it in November 2018 by approving Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment that passed with roughly 61 percent of the vote and stripped redistricting authority from the Michigan Legislature. The amendment rewrote Article IV, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution and made clear that the commission’s work is “not subject to the control or approval of the legislature,” and that no other body may adopt redistricting plans for the state.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
Who Sits on the Commission
The commission has 13 seats, divided in a specific way: four members who affiliate with the Democratic Party, four who affiliate with the Republican Party, and five who do not affiliate with either major party. The Secretary of State runs the whole selection pipeline, from advertising and accepting applications through vetting and the final random draw that fills the seats.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
Eligibility is narrow by design. Within the six years before applying, you cannot have held or run for partisan office, served as a political party officer, worked for an elected official or a campaign, been employed by the legislature, worked as a paid consultant for a political action committee, or registered as a lobbyist. Certain unclassified state employees are also barred. The same six-year bar reaches close family: spouses, parents, stepparents, children, and stepchildren of anyone in those categories cannot serve either.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
The restrictions follow commissioners out the door. For five years after joining the commission, a member cannot run for any partisan office in Michigan at the state, county, city, village, or township level. The seat is not a launching pad.
The Seven Criteria That Govern Every Map
The constitution lists the criteria the commission must apply, and it ranks them in a binding order of priority. When two criteria conflict, the higher-ranked one controls. In order, they are:1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
- Equal population and compliance with the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.
- Geographic contiguity, with islands counted as contiguous with the county they belong to.
- Communities of interest, meaning shared cultural, historical, or economic ties. Relationships with political parties, incumbents, or candidates are explicitly excluded.
- Partisan fairness, measured using accepted metrics, with no disproportionate advantage to any party.
- No favoring or disfavoring any incumbent or candidate.
- Reflection of county, city, and township boundaries.
- Reasonably compact district shapes.
The ranking matters. Partisan fairness sits at number four, above municipal boundaries and compactness. That ordering forces the commission to confront partisan balance before falling back on tidy shapes or county lines.
How a Final Map Gets Adopted
Before any vote, the commission must test proposed maps against all seven criteria and then publish each plan for at least 45 days of public comment. Each published plan has to include the underlying census data, a map, and a legal description of every district.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
Final adoption requires at least seven votes, and that majority must include at least two Democrats, two Republicans, and two independents. No single faction can push a map through on its own. The constitutional deadline for adopting final plans is November 1 of the year following the decennial census.
If the commission cannot assemble that cross-partisan majority, the commissioners rank the proposed maps. If they cannot agree on a ranking either, the Secretary of State randomly selects a final map from the plans the commission put forward. The fallback keeps the process from grinding to a halt, though it leaves open the possibility that chance, rather than consensus, picks the winner.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
How the Public Participates
Public hearings are required at two stages. Before the commission drafts any maps, it must hold at least ten public hearings around the state to explain the process and gather input on communities of interest. After developing at least one proposed plan for each chamber (congressional, state Senate, state House), it must hold at least five more hearings on the draft maps.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
Anyone can submit a proposed map or supporting materials to the commission, and those submissions become public records. Community organizations, academics, and individual residents can put forward their own plans with data to back them up.
Transparency rules are unusually strict. All business must be conducted in open meetings, and in 2021 the legislature amended the Open Meetings Act to make explicit that the commission cannot meet in closed session for any purpose.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 15.268 No executive sessions. Meetings are broadcast live, advance notice is required, and all commission records are available at no charge.
Court Oversight and the First Cycle’s Lawsuits
The Michigan Supreme Court holds original jurisdiction over challenges to adopted maps, so lawsuits go straight to the state’s highest court rather than starting at the trial level.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6 Federal courts can also hear challenges grounded in federal law or the U.S. Constitution, and both routes have been used.
In Detroit Caucus v. Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, plaintiffs argued the commission’s maps violated the Voting Rights Act by eliminating minority-majority districts in Detroit and diluting minority voting power. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights publicly stated that the proposed congressional maps failed Voting Rights Act requirements. The Michigan Supreme Court denied the challenge.3Michigan Courts. 163926 Detroit Caucus v Independent Citizens Redistricting
A separate federal case, Banerian v. Benson, reached a different outcome. A federal court found that seven state House districts had been drawn primarily on the basis of race, violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. The court ordered remedial maps by February 2, 2024. The commission developed ten alternative plans, took public comment, and ultimately advanced a plan called “Motown Sound.” On March 27, 2024, the federal court approved it and ordered the Secretary of State to use it for the 2024 elections.4State of Michigan. Commission Report on 2024 Redistricting
The two cases together illustrate a real tension the commission has to manage. The Voting Rights Act sometimes requires attention to the racial composition of districts, while the equal protection clause limits how heavily race can drive the lines. The commission has to thread that needle, and the first cycle showed it is harder than it looks.
Removing a Commissioner
Commissioners can be removed mid-term, but the bar is high: ten of the thirteen members must vote to remove, after written notice and a chance for the member to respond, and only for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct, or inability to serve. A seat also becomes vacant automatically on death, mental incapacity, written resignation, or loss of eligibility.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article IV 6
Ten of thirteen is close to unanimity. It protects commissioners from party-line ouster attempts and keeps the panel stable, but it also means a problematic member is difficult to remove unless the conduct is clear enough to cross partisan lines.