Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Memo #2 — Final Analysis of Public Comments on 2024 Remediated Senate Maps in Southeast Michigan
This brief provides a review of CLOSUP analysis of public comments submitted to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) in spring 2024 as part of the effort to draw new maps in Southeast Michigan as directed by a federal court. The initial summary was presented in an earlier memo, and a final set of lessons learned, and future recommendations will be available in a subsequent memo.
Key findings
- Data: 1,463 public comments on MICRC revised maps, 415 unique commenters, 4,082 specific points addressed
- Most Common Concerns: 1. Partisan Fairness, 2. Keep Jurisdictions and Communities of Interest (COIs) whole
- Most Preferred Maps: 1. Szetela (Plan #404), 2. Heron (Plan #376)
- Szetela (#404): Most popular and commented on map. Commenters liked strong partisan fairness metrics and protection of Detroit and Oakland County COIs.
- Heron (#376): Second most popular. Commenters liked strong partisan fairness metrics with some hesitation on Metro Detroit COIs.
- Kellom (#403): Third highest favorability rating. Commenters liked strong partisan fairness metrics, but not as many comments as other preferred maps.
- Cardinal (#373): Heavily commented on map, but polarizing. Commenters liked the protection of the Chaldean COI, but disliked the partisan fairness numbers.
- Region-Specific Comments
- Szetela (#404) and Kellom (#403) received consistently positive comments across all regions.
- Heron (#376) received positive feedback from all regions except Macomb County, which gave negative feedback overall.
- Cardinal (#373) received the most disagreement across regions with negative feedback overall from all regions except Macomb County, which gave positive feedback overall.