A national Democratic group is giving $250,000 to a Michigan ballot initiative that would create an independent commission to draw congressional and legislative maps instead of the Legislature.
The National Redistricting Action Fund, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, announced the donation Wednesday. The group is led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
He says Voters Not Politicians is a citizen-led movement and its proposal on the November ballot to curtail partisan gerrymandering would put people into government "who are more responsive to the people they are supposed to represent."
The Michigan Republican Party, which opposes the measure, says the donation is further evidence that Voters Not Politicians is a "Democrat front group." Organizers of the initiative say it is supported by Republicans, Democrats and independents.