© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Redistricting ballot proposal headed to state Supreme Court this week

The Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments this week about whether a redistricting measure can go on the November ballot. It’s the last stop for the contentious proposal.

A Republican and business-backed group called Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution disputed the proposal. They said the measure is a complete overhaul of the Constitution.

Dave Doyle is a spokesperson for the group.

“It creates in a sense, a fourth branch of government. So that’s a wholesale rewrite of the Constitution,” he says.

The Court of Appeals said the complaint against the proposal is “without merit.” But Citizens appealed to the Supreme Court.

Katie Fahey is with Voters Not Politicians, the group that spearheaded the proposal. She says hundreds of thousands of people have supported the measure.

“So it’s really a movement of, and for, and by the people of Michigan who just want to be able to vote on this in November,” she says.

The measure would create a commission of Republicans, Democrats and Independents to draw the state’s legislative district lines.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
Related Content