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Michigan voters approve anti-gerrymandering Proposal 2

minnie616

minnie616

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From today’s Detroit Free Press

LANSING — Michigan voters on Tuesday night gave a big "yes" to a ballot proposal that would significantly change the way Michigan's political lines are drawn for congressional and state legislative districts.

The Associated Press called the race before midnight Tuesday, and with 89 percent of precincts reporting, the "yes" side had 61.1 percent of the vote, compared with 38.9 percent for the "no" side.

Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment borne out of widespread concerns about the effects of political gerrymandering in Michigan, will take the power to draw those lines out of the hands of partisan state lawmakers and give the job to an independent redistricting commission.
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https://www.freep.com/story/news/po...roposal-2-michigan-gerrymandering/1847078002/



Good for Michigan.

Voters passed an anti-gerrymandering proposal.

Michigan was one of gerrymandered states after the 2010 census.
 
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Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment borne out of widespread concerns about the effects of political gerrymandering in Michigan, will take the power to draw those lines out of the hands of partisan state lawmakers and give the job to an independent redistricting commission.
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It is totally absurd that ANY state allows partisan politicians to redraw the very voting districts that benefit them. It is a tremendous conflict of interest and one of the many sources of our political woes. I congratulate Michigan for taking this step toward becoming a real democracy and I hope all other states follow.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
It is totally absurd that ANY state allows partisan politicians to redraw the very voting districts that benefit them. It is a tremendous conflict of interest and one of the many sources of our political woes. I congratulate Michigan for taking this step toward becoming a real democracy and I hope all other states follow.
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My representative is in a gerrymandered district.
 
How's this supposed to work? Point being: there's no way to draw district lines without somebody being pissed off. Who draws the lines? What are the rules? Flip a coin? Cut cards? An "independent commission"? Yeah, nothing can get corrupted, there...lol
 
apdst said:
How's this supposed to work? Point being: there's no way to draw district lines without somebody being pissed off. Who draws the lines? What are the rules? Flip a coin? Cut cards? An "independent commission"? Yeah, nothing can get corrupted, there...lol
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The voters will decide not the politicians

Here is the text from the ballot:


This proposed constitutional amendment would: Create a commission of 13 registered voters randomly selected by the Secretary of State: 4 each who self-identify as affiliated with the 2 major political parties; and 5 who self-identify as unaffiliated with major political parties. Prohibit partisan officeholders and candidates, their employees, certain relatives, and lobbyists from serving as commissioners. Establish new redistricting criteria including geographically compact and contiguous districts of equal population, reflecting Michigan’s diverse population and communities of interest. Districts shall not provide disproportionate advantage to political parties or candidates. Require an appropriation of funds for commission operations and commissioner compensation. Should this proposal be adopted?
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An article explains in more detail:

5 Things to know

5 things to know about the ballot proposal to end gerrymandering in Michigan | Michigan Radio
 
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RabidAlpaca said:
It is totally absurd that ANY state allows partisan politicians to redraw the very voting districts that benefit them. It is a tremendous conflict of interest and one of the many sources of our political woes. I congratulate Michigan for taking this step toward becoming a real democracy and I hope all other states follow.
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Hypocritical crocodile tears on display. See also: Illinois, Maryland, California.
 
minnie616 said:
From today’s Detroit Free Press



https://www.freep.com/story/news/po...roposal-2-michigan-gerrymandering/1847078002/



Good for Michigan.

Voters passed an anti-gerrymandering proposal.

Michigan was one of gerrymandered states after the 2010 census.
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Lots of people in Michigan - inducing myself - put in lots of work getting this on the ballot and then passed. It should end the ugly gerrymandering that has so victimized our state creating a terrible imbalance in politics here.
 
haymarket said:
Lots of people in Michigan - inducing myself - put in lots of work getting this on the ballot and then passed. It should end the ugly gerrymandering that has so victimized our state creating a terrible imbalance in politics here.
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You helped dream this impending trainwreck?
 
OpportunityCost said:
Hypocritical crocodile tears on display. See also: Illinois, Maryland, California.
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What is hypocritical? Has RabidAlpaca or the people of Michigan claimed gerrymandering should be allowed in those states either?
 
haymarket said:
Lots of people in Michigan - inducing myself - put in lots of work getting this on the ballot and then passed. It should end the ugly gerrymandering that has so victimized our state creating a terrible imbalance in politics here.
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That is my hope. Thank you for your help in getting this on the ballot.
 
OpportunityCost said:
Hypocritical crocodile tears on display. See also: Illinois, Maryland, California.
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1) California set up a non-partisan redistricting program in 2011, which has made districts more competitive. Republicans currently do poorly in California not because of gerrymandering, but because they are not popular in most parts of the state.

2) You can be a Democrat (or progressive or leftist or whatever) and still be against gerrymandering. This should not be a partisan position -- no one should support rigging districts to favor one side or another.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
What is hypocritical? Has RabidAlpaca or the people of Michigan claimed gerrymandering should be allowed in those states either?
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I find it ridiculous that this is cried about endlessly in Republican states but largely ignored as an issue in Democratic strongholds like California and Illinois. If it is so important of an issue to Democrat voters, why haven't they just fixed it in Illinois, California and Maryland? Because it is a hypocritical stance, that's why.
 
Visbek said:
1) California set up a non-partisan redistricting program in 2011, which has made districts more competitive. Republicans currently do poorly in California not because of gerrymandering, but because they are not popular in most parts of the state.

2) You can be a Democrat (or progressive or leftist or whatever) and still be against gerrymandering. This should not be a partisan position -- no one should support rigging districts to favor one side or another.
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California picked a new way to try to game the system: https://www.vox.com/2018/5/29/17381244/california-elections-2018-top-two-primaries

Where have you been?

I say again, if Democrats are so against gerrymandering why aren't they fixing it in states they run?
 
apdst said:
You helped dream this impending trainwreck?
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I have been working on this for a long time now - going back to last year.
 
minnie616 said:
That is my hope. Thank you for your help in getting this on the ballot.
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You are welcome. Most of the work I did was in getting it on the ballot and I am proud to say I played an active role in that. Once it was on the ballot, I did a bit of voter discussions at events but at age 69, my days of door to door canvassing are pretty much over and I love that to younger folks. I was convinced that if it got on the ballot it would win easily and that proved to be true.

Other states have been in contact with out leadership team and they will try to replicate our ballot language and success in their states. This should be only the start of a revolution putting voters in charge of the politicians and NOT the politicians in charge of the voters.
 
haymarket said:
You are welcome. Most of the work I did was in getting it on the ballot and I am proud to say I played an active role in that. Once it was on the ballot, I did a bit of voter discussions at events but at age 69, my days of door to door canvassing are pretty much over and I love that to younger folks. I was convinced that if it got on the ballot it would win easily and that proved to be true.

Other states have been in contact with out leadership team and they will try to replicate our ballot language and success in their states. This should be only the start of a revolution putting voters in charge of the politicians and NOT the politicians in charge of the voters.
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Well said and
I too hope more states do follow suit .
 
minnie616 said:
Well said and
I too hope more states do follow suit .
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I have high hopes that they will.

What state are you in?

Also, Michigan yesterday also passed another ballot initiative that will expand voter registration and begin same day registration and voting and bring back straight party ticket voting. It is expected that 400,000 more Michigan citizens could cast ballots in future elections because of these reforms making voting more accessible.
 
Visbek said:
1) California set up a non-partisan redistricting program in 2011, which has made districts more competitive. Republicans currently do poorly in California not because of gerrymandering, but because they are not popular in most parts of the state.

2) You can be a Democrat (or progressive or leftist or whatever) and still be against gerrymandering. This should not be a partisan position -- no one should support rigging districts to favor one side or another.
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Nothing to do with how the districts are drawn. Riiiiiight!
 
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