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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

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    The Powerless North | 45 comments (45 topical, 0 hidden)
    A couple of important points (none / 0) (#10)
    by midlandrepublican on Mon Sep 21, 2009 at 08:42:24 AM EST
    1. With Michigan losing population and in line to lose one congressional seat after the 2010 Census, the legislative (Senate and House) seats should have smaller populations. I wouldn't be surprised to see State House seats with constituencies of 75,000 to 80,000 verses the 90,000-100,000 that is found today.

    2. With 110 seats, Michigan's lower chamber, the State House, is somewhat smaller than counterparts in other states. If one wanted to increase representation of smaller communities, a small increase in the number of seats could also be a solution.

    3. Historically, the Michigan Legislature favored the counties and rural areas, which is why Republicans dominated both chambers with massive majorities from the Civil War to the 1960s. At one point in our state's history, each county was allocated a seat in the State House with the remainder of the seats allocated on a proportional basis per population. I personally believe this is best formula, though compromises would have to be made to adhere to the Supreme Court's decisions since the 1960s. (I believe these decisions were very unconstitutional. Why can't states give counties a seat in a legislative chamber if the states can each have two seats in the U.S. Senate?) For example, the law could provide for any county with a population over 25,000 to have a seat in the Legislature with the smaller counties forced into cross-county districts.

    4. If representation and constituency boundaries is an issue, you could have multi-member legislative districts such as Maryland and other states. They have combined State Senate and House districts into single legislative districts into multi-member districts.

    5. Part of the problem is the drawing of the map. The Republicans did a horrible job in redistricting in 2001 for legislative seats. They could have drew a map that favored Republicans much better. An example is the number of Democrats with seats in Northern Michigan.

    6. I recommend anyone with an interest in this subject consult past "Michigan Manual" editions at your local library or consider buying them online. They are published every legislative session and date to statehood. They are a tremendous resource for information on past and present elected officials, congressional and legislative districts (and how they have evolved over time), election results, state government information and more.


    The Powerless North | 45 comments (45 topical, 0 hidden)
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