Gerrymandering

 I seem to remember that, the last time we discussed the subject, I conceded that Michigan's legislative districts were probably gerrymandered in favor of the Republicans.  This practice was not illegal at the time, and I'm pretty sure the Democrats would have done the same thing if they had been in control of the state legislature.  In 2018, the Michigan Constitution was amended by ballot proposal to remove redistricting authority from the state legislature and invest it in the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, randomly selected from a list of volunteers and appointed by our Secretary of State.  This commission is made up of four Democrats, four Republicans, and four independents, all self declared, who are not supposed to have any political connections. 

The following is quoted from a letter to the editor by Debbie Pond of Cheboygan that was published in our local paper today:

"The districts will comply with voting rights act and other federal laws, be reasonably compact, reflect consideration of county, city, and township boundaries, and shall not provide a disproportionate advantage or disadvantage to any political party, elected official, or candidate."  - Sounds good so far, but then it says:

"Districts shall also reflect the state's diverse population and communities of interest. Communities of interest may include, but shall not be limited to, populations that share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests."

In my opinion, the two statements are mutually exclusive.  If you gerrymander for communities of interest, you automatically gerrymander for political parties, since poor people and people of color commonly vote Democrat, while people who have something to lose commonly vote Republican.