Michigan GOP fails again to stop new redistricting panel

Another Republican attempt to block Michigan's independent redistricting commission was dismissed Monday by a federal judge.

The state Republican Party's lawsuit argued that restrictions on who may serve on the new panel violated the free speech and free association rights of potential GOP commissioners — the same argument a federal appeals court rebuffed just three months ago.

Battleground Michigan has been at the heart of the gerrymandering debate since the start of the decade, when Republicans took control of Lansing and drew some of the most assertively partisan legislative and...