Date Approved

2026

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Political Science

First Advisor

Joshua B. Koss, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Shu Wang, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Barbara Patrick, Ph.D.

Abstract

The American system of government requires that voters be able to choose their politicians, not the other way around. For centuries, politicians of all stripes have utilized the redistricting process to draw electoral districts that benefit themselves and their political party. This practice has triggered calls for redistricting reform at the national and state levels, including in Michigan. This research provides a case study of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). It focuses on the commission’s activities as part of a national conversation about redistricting reform and the use of Independent Redistricting Commissions (IRCs), composed of ordinary citizens, compared to traditional legislative redistricting. This preliminary research highlights the commission’s performance in the area of partisan fairness, using a series of partisan fairness metrics recognized in the political science literature, which show significant reductions in partisan disparities compared to the congressional and state legislative maps approved by the Michigan Legislature (ML) in the 2010s.

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