Supreme Court ruling means no new Michigan maps for 2020 election

LANSING (AP) — Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature will not be forced to redraw legislative and congressional districts for the 2020 election following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last Thursday that federal courts have no role to play in deciding claims of partisan gerrymandering.

Pending its 5-4 decision, the high court had put on hold an April ruling from a federal court panel that ordered lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to enact new maps by Aug. 1.

The lawsuit suit pertains only to 2020. Michigan voters in November approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent commission to handle the once-a-decade redistricting process after the 2020 census, which will affect the 2022 election and beyond.