Maps were supposed to be completed by Friday by Michigan’s new independent citizen redistricting commission. Supporters say Census delays made that impossible, but critics contend the panel is rife with dysfunction.
The percentage of minority residents has grown in almost all Michigan cities. That’s prompting hope in segregated regions like metro Detroit, but some worry old patterns will repeat.
Michigan’s population is flat, but districts that are heavily Democratic tended to lose more residents than Republican areas, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis. Rep. Dan Kildee’s district lost the most.
Western Michigan and southeast suburbs are growing gangbusters, but Detroit, the U.P. and Thumb continue to lose residents. ‘It’s a trend that can’t continue,’ says one.
GOP areas in northern Michigan lose population, but so do some Democratic strongholds. Something’s got to give as the state loses one congressional seat.
With charts of county, city population changes: Much of Michigan loses residents, but growth of the west side offsets losses. Populations of Flint, Detroit plummet; challenge eyed.
The authors argue that hiring Washington, D.C. law firm BakerHostetler as litigation consultant would subvert the nonpartisan mission of the commission as it redraws the state’s unfairly gerrymandered political maps.
The U.S. Census is releasing population data on Thursday, so now the 13-member panel can get down to business after months of challenges and administrative work.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission sought to extend a Sept. 17 deadline for redrawing political maps, noting that new U.S. Census population figures would not even be available to it until the end of September.
The state’s redistricting panel has said it will not have enough time to complete the maps. But some justices expressed want to let the process play out.
The author spent seven weeks canvassing neighborhoods in Detroit and Redford Township. Some residents were happy to answer the census in person. Others were less thrilled to see a man from the government at their door. Mistrust seemed to cross demographic lines.
Downtown, Midtown and Corktown neighborhoods — filled with residents who have homes, parents or friends in the suburbs — have the lowest Census responses in Detroit.
The upcoming count will offer a better understanding of Detroit’s demographic changes but the state's largest city is grappling with a low response rate for Census 2020.
Detroit had marshaled huge resources to boost census participation. Then came COVID-19. Now, as cases decline, the city is trying to play catchup because millions of dollars are at stake from an accurate count.
The U.S. Census Bureau is sometimes slow to reflect the changing nature of families, but this year’s count has made changes to better reflect the LGBTQ community.
Fears persist that census data will be used to target minority populations for deportation, shaping outreach efforts and likely reducing the number of people that will respond to the census.
