Michigan Unf*cks Its Maps And Democracy Happens

Next year, Democrats will control both houses of the Michigan Legislature for the first time since 1983.

And do you want to know why? DO YOU?!

Fair maps.

No, really! I’m serious! All it took was
fair maps.

I don’t want to say gerrymandering is one of my
favorite things to talk about, since I wish it didn’t exist in the first place, but I did explain it to some strangers at the bus stop the other day, so here we are.

Gerrymandering is such an important issue — and one that’s easily overlooked, because of how easy it is to get wonky and into the weeds when you’re talking about things like statistics, population size, and cartography. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Whether or not they even know what the word
gerrymandering means, Americans overwhelmingly want fair elections and fair maps. And when they get them, good things happen.

And on Tuesday, three midwestern states gave us stark examples of the power of gerrymandering — and the power of democracy.

Let’s start with the good news!

Michigan, fuck yeah.

For the first time in my lifetime, Michigan will have a Democratic Legislature. And the reason for that is independent redistricting, baby.

In 2018, Michigan voters approved
Prop 2, to unfuck their legislature and create an independent redistricting commission. Instead of being drawn by self-interested politicians, Michigan’s political maps arenow drawn by a commission of Michigan citizens consisting of four Democrats, four Republicans, and five unaffiliated voters.

UNFUCKED! Scott Walker’s BACK And He’s Ratf*cking Michigan!

Naturally, Republicans have done everything they can to stop the voice of the people from being heard. Even after more than
61 percent of Michiganders voted in favor of independent redistricting, Republicans asked a federal court to, as the lovely Liz Dyeso aptly described, “declare the entire law unconstitutional and return mapmaking power to the Republican-controlled legislature as White Jesus intended.” Luckily, fairness won out, Republicans’ ratfucking attempts failed, and Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission drew the state its first fair political maps intwo decades.

On Tuesday,
we saw what happens when the voices of Michigan voters are heard. For the first time since 1983, both houses of the Michigan Legislature will be blue. And with Gretchen Whitmer alsocruising to reelection along with a Dem lieutenant governor, secretary of state, AG, most college trustees, and on and on, Michigan Democrats have been given about as strong of a mandate as you can get.

I am so happy that Michigan will have sanity restored to its statehouse — but that is truly not what this is about. This is about democratic ideals, fundamental fairness, and ensuring our elections give people a real voice. Michigan’s results reflect the actual will of the people. The number of Democratic and Republican lawmakers is based on votes instead of creative mapmaking. That is exactly what a legislative election should be. It also just so happens that Michigan voters (who
came out to vote in record numbers!) are fans of politicians who fight for things like abortion rights, equity, and affordable healthcare. 😊

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin . . .

On the other end of the ratfucking spectrum, we have two of Michigan’s neighbors, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Let me be frank: Wisconsin, where I live, is not a democracy.

Wisconsin is about as close to a 50-50 state as you can get, and has been that way for decades. Candidates from both parties are competitive in statewide races. And, for a long time, control of the state Legislature bounced back and forth. In 2011, Scott Walker and Republicans in the legislature changed all that and passed themselves the
most gerrymandered maps in the country.

A
quick glance at the results of the 2018 election really tells you all you need to know about the (lack of) fairness in Wisconsin’s maps and the power of gerrymandering. In 2018, Democrats won 54 percent of the statewide votes for the Assembly . . . and won 36 percent of the seats.

With the majority they guaranteed themselves in their 2011 gerrymander, this time around, Republicans managed to draw maps that were
even worse for democracy. After some legalback and forth, the GOP’s mega-gerrymander was eventually chosen by the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court.

SPLAINED! Wisconsin Republican Gerrymander ARRRGH!

Supreme Court To Voting Rights Act: AND STAY DEAD!

So that’s how, in a state that’s about as purple as you can get, Republicans almost managed to gerrymander themselves a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature.

Thanks to this ratfucking, Wisconsin managed to
re-elect Democratic Governor Tony Evers by almost 3.5 points while also getting itself a state Senate with a two-thirds Republican supermajority. Thankfully, Democrats managed to stave off a Republican supermajority in the Assembly. And while narrowly avoiding a double GOP legislative supermajority may not sound terribly impressive (even though it actually is impressive, all things considered), it couldn’t be more important for the state.

Since 2018, Governor Evers has been one of the only things keeping Wisconsin remotely sane. With 150 vetoes during Wisconsin’s last two-year legislative session, he broke a record set almost 100 years ago. These vetoes
stopped things like anti-vaxxer nonsense, destroying our public school system, bans on teaching about systemic racism, putting guns in schools, and a whole bunch of voter suppression.

If Republicans had managed to win just a few more votes in the Assembly, all of these things — and worse — would likely have become law.

(And no, I do not want to talk about that asshole Ron Johnson.)

Oh, Ohio . . .

Wisconsin wasn’t the only Michigan neighbor to give us a live demonstration of the power of gerrymandering this year. Not wanting to be outdone, Ohio stepped in to show just how much ratfucking Republicans can get away with when they really put their minds to it.

What’s
really fucked up about Ohio is that, per the Ohio Constitution, it absolutely should not be this way. In 2015 and 2018, indirect response to Republican ratfucking, Ohio voters added provisions to the state’s constitution banning partisan gerrymandering.

However, rather than follow their state constitution and listen to the will of the people, Ohio Republicans decided to give themselves maps that were
even more gerrymandered than the previous maps.

SPLAINED! Ohio Republicans Decide Democracy Is For Libs, Go Ahead And Eliminate It

This was a bridge too far for even the conservative-controlled Ohio Supreme Court, which threw out the Republican maps as an illegal gerrymander. But despite this ruling by the state’s high court, a federal court
intervened and forced the state to use its unconstitutional maps for at least the next two years. Because who really needs democracy, anyway?

And thus, Ohio Republicans
held on to their supermajorities in both houses, allowing them to continue overriding gubernatorial vetoes from their own Republican governor, Mike DeWine, when they’re too crazy. Hopefully the state will have fair and constitutional maps come 2024, but, as we know all too well, a lot can happen in two years.

A Tale of Three States

With Michigan on one side and Wisconsin and Ohio on the other, Tuesday’s results show us what we can make happen when the system is free and fair. In Michigan, democracy prevailed. In Wisconsin and Ohio, democracy wasn’t an option. But we live to fight another day.

Fair maps should not be a partisan issue — and for the people, they aren’t. Regardless of their political party, American voters don’t want rigged maps. States with independent redistricting
range from California and Colorado to Iowa and Alaska. With gerrymandering, it’s the politicians who are the problem, not the people. When nonpartisan redistricting is on the ballot, it wins.

Even here in Wisconsin, there’s hope. Last year, the state supreme court
ruled 4-3 that it would not invalidate political maps on the basis of partisan fairness. But next April, Wisconsin voters have the opportunity to flip our state’s high court and vote for a justice who believes in democracy.

And in Michigan, democracy won this week in more ways than one.

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