search
Sections List
American Journal News

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker now working to undermine democracy in Michigan

Voters kicked him out of Wisconsin in 2018, so Scott Walker is taking his sore loser campaign to another state.

By Lisa Needham - July 31, 2019
Share
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

The Michigan GOP is at it again, trying to undermine a redistricting referendum that passed with overwhelming support during the 2018 elections.

With an assist from Scott Walker, who lost his own governor’s race in neighboring Wisconsin in 2018, the Michigan GOP is suing to block the state from implementing a redistricting initiative that voters overwhelmingly backed.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats swept Michigan. They won every statewide office and passed several progressive ballot initiatives, including implementing automatic voter registration and overhauling redistricting to ban gerrymandering.

The last of those has been a particularly pernicious issue for Michigan, one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country. But in 2018, 61% of Michigan voters supported Proposal 2, which transferred the power to draw legislative districts from the state legislature to an independent redistricting commission.

Michigan Republicans hate that idea, so they’re backing a Republican nonprofit, Fair Lines America Foundation, in a lawsuit against their own state. Fair Lines is affiliated with Walker’s National Republican Redistricting Trust. Walker issued a statement saying that Michigan’s new redistricting commission “punish[es] the people of Michigan” by not letting highly partisan people be members of that commission.

Passed in 2018, Proposal 2 amended Michigan’s constitution to create an independent commission with four Republicans, four Democrats, and five independent voters. It bars, for six years, people who have been partisan political candidates, officers of a political party, and lobbyists for a political party, among other things. Finally, if someone is a parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, or spouse of someone otherwise disqualified because of their partisan candidacy or employment, they are excluded as well.

In other words, Michigan was trying to take redistricting out of the hands of the partisans of the legislature and give it to a well-balanced citizens’ group. It’s tough to think who could be opposed to this, save for Republicans who only retain their seats because of gerrymandering.

The GOP lawsuit alleges that excluding the plaintiffs — people like Tony Daunt, a lobbyist with recent GOP party office positions at both the state and county level — is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs think that it violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech if they can’t be hyper-partisan political candidates or operatives and also be members of an independent redistricting commission designed to minimize the effects of partisanship.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court threw up its hands and said it couldn’t interfere in partisan gerrymandering because it is a “political question” beyond the scope of the courts. At the same time, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out that states like Michigan have solved the problem by creating independent redistricting commissions.

Michigan voters have demanded that hyper-partisans get out of the way and let the citizens determine how state and local electoral district lines will be drawn. It’s not Scott Walker’s right — nor that of the Michigan GOP — to decide otherwise.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


AJ News
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Read More
AJ News
Latest
Megadonor embroiled in ethics scandal gave thousands to Winsome Earle-Sears

Megadonor embroiled in ethics scandal gave thousands to Winsome Earle-Sears

By Jesse Valentine - April 21, 2025
“I Was Terrified To Get Pregnant Again After Having to Flee Tennessee for a Life-Saving Abortion”

“I Was Terrified To Get Pregnant Again After Having to Flee Tennessee for a Life-Saving Abortion”

By Bonnie Fuller - April 21, 2025
Goldman Sachs: Trump’s tariffs will lead to job losses

Goldman Sachs: Trump’s tariffs will lead to job losses

By Jesse Valentine - April 17, 2025
Democrats take stand for wrongly deported Maryland man

Democrats take stand for wrongly deported Maryland man

By Jesse Valentine - April 16, 2025
North Carolina law would make it illegal for Democratic AG to sue Trump

North Carolina law would make it illegal for Democratic AG to sue Trump

By Jesse Valentine - April 11, 2025
Older Americans suffer under Republican slash and burn policies

Older Americans suffer under Republican slash and burn policies

By Jesse Valentine - April 09, 2025
Scott Brown got Trump’s tariff plans for New Zealand very wrong

Scott Brown got Trump’s tariff plans for New Zealand very wrong

By Jesse Valentine - April 08, 2025
Trump admin canceled Social Security contracts to punish Maine governor

Trump admin canceled Social Security contracts to punish Maine governor

By Jesse Valentine - April 03, 2025
Senate Republicans vote to eliminate cap on overdraft fees

Senate Republicans vote to eliminate cap on overdraft fees

By Jesse Valentine - April 03, 2025
Forced to carry a dying baby, this Texas mother of four says she didn’t think it could happen to her

Forced to carry a dying baby, this Texas mother of four says she didn’t think it could happen to her

By Bonnie Fuller - March 28, 2025
Despite pleas from women and doctors, Texas may implement even more abortion restrictions

Despite pleas from women and doctors, Texas may implement even more abortion restrictions

By Bonnie Fuller - March 28, 2025
Trump’s antiwar claims don’t hold up in leaked group chat

Trump’s antiwar claims don’t hold up in leaked group chat

By Jesse Valentine - March 28, 2025
Frontline Republican governors cheer on Department of Ed closure

Frontline Republican governors cheer on Department of Ed closure

By Jesse Valentine - March 26, 2025
GOP-led legislatures ramp up abortion restrictions

GOP-led legislatures ramp up abortion restrictions

By Jesse Valentine - March 18, 2025
HHS slashes vaccine research, amplifies misinformation

HHS slashes vaccine research, amplifies misinformation

By Jesse Valentine - March 11, 2025
Senate Republicans scrap consumer protections for payment apps

Senate Republicans scrap consumer protections for payment apps

By Jesse Valentine - March 10, 2025
Rep. Don Bacon admits he voted for Medicaid cuts

Rep. Don Bacon admits he voted for Medicaid cuts

By - February 28, 2025
Trump admin cracks down on affordable weight-loss treatments

Trump admin cracks down on affordable weight-loss treatments

By Jesse Valentine - February 27, 2025
Republican lawmakers are lying about Medicaid fraud

Republican lawmakers are lying about Medicaid fraud

By Jesse Valentine - February 26, 2025
Trump’s education pick: schools may lose funds for teaching Black history

Trump’s education pick: schools may lose funds for teaching Black history

By Jesse Valentine - February 13, 2025
JD Vance defends DOGE staffer who promoted eugenics 

JD Vance defends DOGE staffer who promoted eugenics 

By Jesse Valentine - February 10, 2025
Texas’ abortion ban has OB-GYNs working in an environment of ‘extreme fear’

Texas’ abortion ban has OB-GYNs working in an environment of ‘extreme fear’

By Bonnie Fuller - February 04, 2025