Michigan § 3.54a - Redistricting plan; principles.

All of the following apply to the redistricting plan in section 1a:

(a) The number of county breaks in the redistricting plan is determined by the following principles:

(i) Breaking a county line means assigning part of the population of a county to 1 or more counties in the formation of a district.

(ii) If population is shifted from a county to a single election district, including a district from 2 geographically separate areas, there is 1 break. Except as provided in subparagraph (iii), if population from a county is shifted to 2 or more election districts, there are 2 or more breaks.

(iii) If 1 part of a county is shifted to a district and the rest of the county is shifted to another district, there is 1 break.

(b) The redistricting plan was designed to comply fully with both section 2 of the voting rights act of 1965, 42 USC 1973, and the requirements of the equal protection clause of amendment XIV of the constitution of the United States, as set forth in Shaw v Reno, 509 US 630 (1993), and subsequent cases concerning racial gerrymandering. In light of these dual obligations, the plan avoids any practice or district lines that result in the denial of any racial or ethnic group's equal opportunity to elect a representative of its choice and, at the same time, does not subordinate traditional redistricting principles for the purpose of accomplishing a racial gerrymander or creating a majority-minority district. As a consequence, the plan does not result in retrogression or dilution of minority voting strength, particularly in light of the demographic limitations caused by relative population losses and the neutral criteria set forth in section 3 of the congressional redistricting act, 1999 PA 221, MCL 3.63. However, the plan does not sacrifice traditional neutral principles, such as, most importantly, preservation of county and municipal boundaries, for the purpose of engaging in a gerrymander that unnecessarily favors 1 racial group over others.

(c) The redistricting plan for congressional districts consists of 14 single-member districts composed of convenient territories contiguous by land.