Michigan Political Map Axed in ‘Seismic’ Blow to Commissions (1)

Michigan’s state House and Senate maps were tossed as racial gerrymanders, a first-of-its-kind loss for a state redistricting commission and a major blow to Democrats’ chances to maintain control of the state legislature.

In a groundbreaking opinion that focused on primary—not general election data—a three-judge federal panel ruled Thursday evening that Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission illegally drew 13 districts’ lines. They violated the US Constitution by predominantly focusing on race, minimizing Black voting age population in various Detroit-area districts in a way that denied Black voters the ability to select minority candidates in primaries.

“The record here is almost ...