(WSYM) — The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistrict Commission will meet on Thursday to hear proposals from two different companies regarding line drawing.
You can watch the hearing at 9 a.m. by clicking here
The hearing is virtual due to COVID-19 and will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. During the hearing, Election Data Services and HaystaqDNA will present their proposals for line-drawing and redistricting technical services.
Both organizations will answer questions about their proposals, and the 13 commission members will discuss the proposals after the presentation.
The commission, which consists of four Republicans, four Democrats and five Independents, is tasked with re-drawing Michigan's political boundaries ahead of the 2022 election.
According to the Election Data Services Inc. website, the company is a political consulting firm that specializes in redistricting. The company said their involvement in redistrcting dates back to the late 1970s and they have worked on the Michigan legislature.
"It is our standard practice to meet with every state legislator of both parties, in both chambers, to review the member’s district, its neighborhoods and the demographic characteristics of its voters. When the Census data is released, we will conduct regional meetings around the state to review what the numbers mean for representation. We then work with legislative members, staff, and the public to draw potential plan configurations," the website reads.
According to the HaystaqDNA website, the company served as mapping consultants for Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission in 2010. In 2017, the Associated Press ranked Arizona for the fourth-lowest effect of gerrymandering in the 2016 election.
HaystaqDNA also said they worked to fight gerrymandering and redraw some illegal districts in Florida in 2010 and 2011.
