Applications will start arriving this week in resident’s mailboxes as the State of Michigan looks to staff a Redistricting Commission to begin work next year.

In 2018 Michigan voters elected to create an independent citizens redistricting commission. The Secretary of State has recently selected 250,000 residents in a random name draw who will receive applications for the 13-member panel by mail. Those applications are being mailed out this week and next.

Secretary of State Director of Communications Jake Rollow says that while only 10,000 random application requests were required, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson went far and above that amount to ensure they got a proper cross-section of state residents. For those who don’t receive an application in the mail but are still interested in serving on the commission, they can do so online at RedistrictingMichigan.org through the end of May.

At that point, the Secretary of State will randomly select 200 semi-finalists, with at least half coming from the random mailing. The semi-finalist pool must mirror the geographic and demographic make-up of the state, and consist of 60 who affiliate with Republicans, 60 who affiliate with Democrats, and 80 who do not affiliate with either.

The final 13 that will serve on the commission will be made up of 4 Republicans, 4 Democrats, and 5 Independents. They will be given exclusive authority to adopt district boundaries for the Michigan House, Michigan Senate, and U.S. Congress every 10 years. (JK)