A meeting of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will be held Thursday at the Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College in Benton Township. The commission’s Edward Woods III tells WSJM News voters approved the independent body in 2018 to reduce gerrymandering in the state. The commission is redrawing the state’s legislative districts.
“We’re hosting our regular meetings, but at the same time we really want to hear feedback from Michigan’s great southwest, the residents there, about how the map should be drawn, or their particular community of interest,” Woods said.
Woods says when the commission is finished redrawing the state’s districts this year, it will have fewer representatives in the U.S. House.
“Because of the census, we lost a seat, and so instead of having 14 congressional districts, we’ll have 13 congressional districts, and each congressional district will hold about 775,200 people. So what’s the best way to draw that map?”
That’s what the commission wants to hear from southwest Michigan residents at Thursday’s meeting. It will start at 5 p.m. and those who wish to make comments should arrive between 4 and 5 to register. Each person will get two minutes for their comments.
