Republicans tried to rig the vote in Michigan - but 'political novices' just defeated them
Source: The Guardian
After a Republican bragged about cramming ‘Dem garbage’ into certain districts, a grassroots campaign has given the power to redraw political maps to the people.
In 2016, Katie Fahey, a Michigan woman with no political experience, put up a Facebook post asking if anyone she knew wanted to do something about gerrymandering, a pervasive practice of lawmakers drawing district lines to benefit their own party.
Michigan is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.
Fahey’s post would create a movement that could provide a roadmap for making US elections fairer. Coordinating over Google Docs and fanning out across the state, her effort grew into a group called Voters Not Politicians that would eventually amend the Michigan constitution to strip redistricting power from lawmakers.
[snip]
Republicans took issue with a provision prohibiting anyone with close partisan connections from serving on the panel to ensure the districts are drawn fairly.
Even though there was overwhelming support for the measure – it passed with about 61% of the vote – Republicans have used every maneuver they can to try to stop it over the past two years. They unsuccessfully tried to kick the measure off the ballot in 2018. And once Michigan voters approved it, they brought two lawsuits in federal court this summer, arguing that the commission violated the US constitution.
The group successfully got the measure to pass and has fended off a mountain of legal challenges...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/27/gerrymandering-michigan-citizens-voters-not-politicians
This is great news!!!! Grassroots won! It took them 2+ years and they had to endure two republican law suits, but it did not stop them.
Congratulations! Power to the people!!
The article talks about how they used many clever methods to engage people and it worked! I would recommend reading the article. This can be repeated in all states!
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Congratulations to Ms. Fahey and all involved righting this most egregious wrong. 
