Supreme Court lets GOP re-draw county district plan

The Michigan Supreme Court -- in a decision that breaks along party-lines -- has upheld a state law that will let Republicans on the Oakland County Commission redraw their district lines.

Democrats in Oakland County challenged the law. They say it was designed by the Legislature’s Republican majorities only to affect Oakland County and only to help Republicans maintain their control over the county commission. The law allows the commission to scrap a re-districting map drawn by a panel led by Democrats.

Oakland is one of Michigan’s largest counties and has become a political battleground where Republicans and Democrats fight fiercely for every advantage.   

The Supreme Court says the law complies with the state constitution, regardless of whether it was designed to give one party a political advantage. The Supreme Court has a slim Republican majority. The court’s three Democrats dissented from the decision.