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IPPSR opened its first Public Policy Forum of 2018 Public Policy Forum Series with a full house on hand to talk about the intricacies of redistricting.

From redistricting's constitutional history to a 2018 proposal to completely redo the way Michigan draws its voting district lines, a panel of scholars and experts talk abouted redistricting and the impact that drawing new voting boundaries could have on the state’s political landscape and Legislature.

States across our nation vary in how they determine voter districts. Both of our major political parties have previously claimed "partisan gerrymandering" or the formation of districts that lean votes in one party's favor of the other party. 

The panelists included:

  • Corwin Smidt, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University,

Area of expertise: Redistricting Practices, Gerrymandering Defined, and Related Research

  • Richard D. McLellan, McLellan Law Offices, PLLC, Chairman of the Michigan Law Revision Commission,  Adjunct Associate Professor, MSU’s College of Communication Arts & Sciences

Area of expertise: Redistricting's History and Where We Are Today

  • Davia Downey, Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Director of the MPA Program, Grand Valley State University

Area of expertise: Current Proposals for Changing Voter Districts in Michigan, November 2018 Ballot

Two presentations from the Forum are currently posted, and photos and video will be posted shortly.

Four other IPPSR Public Policy Forums are on the new year calendar:

  • Imagine no broadband access, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018.

  • Great Lakes environmental restoration, Wednesday, March 28, 2018.

  • Answering the call for career and technical education, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.

  • Michigan foster care and group homes, Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

IPPSR is part of MSU’s College of Social Science and is the home for the Michigan Political Leadership Program, the Office for Survey Research, the State of the State Survey, State of the State Podcast , Michigan Policy Insiders Panel and the Correlates of State Policy.