LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — State officials announced that the 13 commissioners of the state’s first ever Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission were randomly selected Monday.
The board consists of four Republican voters, four Democrat voters, and five voters that aren’t affiliated with either party.
The members are announced as follows:
Republican:
- Erin Wagner
- Cynthia Orton
- Douglas Clark
- Rhonda Lange
Democrat:
- M. Rothorn
- Juanita Curry
- Dustin Witjes
- Brittni Kellom
Unaffiliated:
- Janice Vallette
- James Decker
- Richard Weiss
- Steven Lett
- Anthony Eid
The commissioners are charged with redrawing the boundaries of Michigan’s state and Congressional election districts. This follows voters passing a constitutional amendment in 2018 that strips the authority for redistricting from the state Legislature.
“This is truly a historic day for Michigan, as we are among the first states in the nation to end gerrymandering with an independent citizens commission,” Assistant Secretary of State Heaster Wheeler said in a statement. “I am hopeful that the same enthusiasm we saw during the application process will continue when the Commission begins meeting this fall, and that commissioners will be bolstered by public input as they make our election districts more fair for all Michiganders.”
Nearly 10,000 Michiganders had applied to serve on the Commission during a months-long application process. In accordance with the state Constitution, the pool was narrowed to 200 applications by a previous random selection before the state Legislature removed 20 more applications.
The 13 commissioners were selected randomly by an independent accounting firm, Rehman LLC, from the final pool of 180 applicants.
A message from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on this historic moment can be viewed online.
A video of the selection, the applications of the commissioners, and more information on the Commission is available at RedistrictingMichigan.org.
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