A federal three-judge panel approved new voting districts for the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday after previously invalidating several districts that encompass Detroit—aa majority-black city—because the panel found the Michigan redistricting commission that created the maps drew the lines predominantly based on race in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The panel accepted the state House map modified by Michigan’s redistricting commission in a court-ordered remedial mapping procedure that included a public hearing process to collect opinions on the proposed districts. The metro Detroit voters who sued the redistricting panel challenged the map, alleging that the commission unfairly favors incumbent Democrats and should have included more majority-black districts.

In its order, the panel disregarded the plaintiffs’ arguments, arguing that the considerable modifications to the districts made by the commission in the amended map significantly lessen the electoral advantages incumbents generally enjoy.

The plaintiffs’ contention is that a map that ostensibly protects incumbents and locks in the outcomes of the 2022 election “assumes a degree of passivity among Detroit-area voters that finds little support in the record here,” the court’s judgment states. “To the contrary, the record shows an energized electorate that was profoundly unhappy with the racial gerrymander that we later invalidated in our December 2023 order.” And in most of the districts the order struck down, “African-American voters will have markedly more power to elect their candidate of choice in 2024 than they did in 2022,” the opinion continues.

The decision also disregarded the plaintiffs’ claim that the commission needed to establish additional majority-black districts, saying they made “close to zero effort to show that the remedial plan actually violates the (Voting Rights Act).”

The redistricting commission’s executive director, Edward Woods III, hailed the panel’s decision. “Despite doubts and concerns raised, the Commission demonstrated once again that it could focus on its purpose to draw fair maps with citizen input,” Woods noted in an email.

The panel’s approval of a new state House map establishes the battle lines in Michigan’s political terrain, with several months to go until elections this fall to decide which party will control the chamber.

Ahead of the last redistricting cycle—the process for redrawing new voting districts that occurs every 10 years—Michigan voters changed the state constitution to wrest control of the line-drawing process from politicians and put the pen in the hands of a group of randomly selected voters in the state charged with drawing fair maps.

A group of metro Detroit voters disputed the new lines set by the redistricting committee in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan ahead of the 2022 state House elections.

They contended that the maps treated black voters in Michigan’s largest city unfairly, saying that the commission drew the boundaries primarily based on race in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. They also stated that the commission’s maps did not comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates creating voting districts that provide protected racial minorities an opportunity to elect their favored candidates.

The redistricting commission designed districts that matched neighborhoods in Detroit with suburban communities north of Eight Mile. As a result, the commission’s state House map lowered the number of majority-black districts compared with the GOP-drawn plan previously in existence. Black voters in Detroit came out against the commission’s plans and sought adjustments before their adoption.

The three-judge panel ruled last December that the commission illegally selected seven Detroit-area state House districts based on race. But it did not weigh in on whether the districts complied with federal voting rights law. The panel sent the commission back to the drawing board.

The commission’s plan adopted by the panel reconfigures the seven districts ruled down by the court, along with eight others neighboring the invalidated districts. No Democratic incumbents were drawn together into the same newly reconfigured districts, staving off the potential of a primary struggle between members competing for reelection.

In Detroit, the new state House district increases the number of majority-black districts that run through the city compared with the map now in effect.

Overall, the designs skew slightly more Republican compared with the districts now in place, according to a set of partisan fairness measures used by the commission to evaluate the maps.

With every member in the state House up for grabs, this year’s elections will decide which political party will dominate the house for the next two years.

After the redistricting commission approved the lines now in place, Democrats constituted a majority in the state House for the first time since 2010.

The approaching primary election in August will offer a clue as to how candidates backed by black voters in metro Detroit fare in Democratic primaries for the state House. Meanwhile, the November general election might test whether Democrats can keep control of the chamber.

The Democratic Party’s campaign arm for state legislatures around the country touted the new state House map as giving a path for keeping Democratic dominance. “Michigan will continue to be a shining example of the important work Democrats accomplish in state legislatures and holding the House is one of our top priorities for November,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams in a statement.

Michigan Legislature:Effort by Michigan House staffers presents challenge to Democrats’ pro-union credentials The state’s Bureau of Elections will update the state voter file to reflect the new district lines. The three-judge panel will soon determine a timeframe for redrawing state Senate maps it earlier struck down. State Senate elections occur in 2026.

The redistricting commission is pursuing an appeal of the panel’s decision striking down the first set of state House districts created by the commission as racially gerrymandered to the U.S. Supreme Court. Depending on how the court responds, the new state House map recommended by the panel might remain in place for the remainder of the decade. Or, additional modifications to the maps could happen before the next round of redistricting.