Greetings - Following up on my below email and the request from the Michigan Redistricting Commission for you to draw and submit a geographical map of your Community of Interest [ https://districtr.org/portal/mi/coi ] via the Commission's Public Comment Portal [ https://www.michigan-mapping.org/#draw ], if you have not already. If you have already submitted, thank you so much for your participation in this historic process. I cannot stress enough how critical public input and the sharing of Michigan's Communities of Interest are to this process. Your input will be of tremendous help to the Commission as they begin drawing voting maps. You can find more details on Communities of Interest and how to draw and submit a map below in my original email. Kindest Regards, The Michigan Department of State ________________________________________________________________________ *From:* Redistricting Michigan <Redistricting@Michigan.gov> *Sent:* Monday, July 26, 2021 11:23 AM *To:* <Michlib-L@Lists.Mcls.Org> *Subject:* Michigan Redistricting Communities of Interest ICRC banner Greetings, *On behalf of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, you are invited to draw and submit a map of your Community of Interest using the Commission's Public Comment Portal [ https://www.michigan-mapping.org/ ]. * Redistricting is a constitutionally mandated process that takes place every 10 years in Michigan, in which electoral district lines - lines that determine your state and congressional representation - are redrawn. This year, for the first time in our state's history, an independent, citizen-led commission is in charge of drawing district lines instead of politicians in Lansing. To help meet the constitutional requirements [ http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(m0yavhebjz5dr0amkrainlbt))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-Article-IV-6 ] for drawing electoral district lines, *the Commission needs to hear from members of the public - including you and your community - about Communities of Interest. * Communities of Interest are defined as [ http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(m0yavhebjz5dr0amkrainlbt))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-Article-IV-6 ]areas that "may include, but shall not be limited to, populations that share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates." *The Commission kindly requests that you draw and submit a map of your Community of Interest using the Commission’s Public Comment Portal [ https://www.michigan-mapping.org/ ].* Mapping your Community of Interest will allow the Commission to view the specific, detailed geographical area of your community, along with a written description. The map you draw will be helpful to the Commission as they begin to draw electoral district lines in the coming months, allowing them to better take community boundaries and descriptions into account, and to avoid splitting Communities of Interest between multiple electoral districts where possible. To draw and submit a map of your Community of Interest, you can navigate to the Public Comment Portal or jump straight to the How to Draw a Map [ https://www.michigan-mapping.org/#draw ] section of the page. Mapping resources and video tutorials are also available in this section. The COI mapping button looks like this: COI Button [ https://districtr.org/portal/mi/coi ] If you would like additional assistance or instruction on drawing and submitting a Community of Interest, the Commission encourages you to attend an upcoming Public Mapping Workshop (via Zoom). These workshops, run by the Districtr mapping software team in partnership with the MICRC, will provide hands-on instruction on how to use the Commission’s mapping tool and Public Comment Portal. There are trainings available on Wednesdays (sign up here [ https://tufts.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcufuuhqjgvHtUm72PE3s-wi_BtB4AgssBC ]) and smaller “study halls” on Thursdays and Fridays (sign up here [ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrIRcCWonPdy2n9eCqvs62NBX5sUMtBvoi... ]) throughout July. The Commission sincerely thanks you for your engagement in this historic process. Happy mapping! Best wishes, The Michigan Department of State ________________________________________________________________________ *Michigan.gov/MICRC [ https://www.michigan.gov/micrc ] 888-YOU-DRAW (968-3729)* ________________________________________________________________________ Manage Subscriptions [ https://service.govdelivery.com/accounts/MISOS/subscribers/new?preferences=t... ] | Unsubscribe All [ https://admin.govdelivery.com/abe/bulletins/3122749/https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.gov... ] | Help [ https://subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com/ ] STAY CONNECTED: Visit us on Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/RedistrictingMI ] Visit us on Twitter [ https://twitter.com/RedistrictingMI ] Visit us on YouTube [ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeyRQ8IgEZlZnfTFzpSo-hJct7R3d8UjQ ] Sign up for email updates [ https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MISOS/subscriber/new ] ________________________________________________________________________ This email was sent to michlib-l@lists.mcls.org using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Michigan Secretary of State · 430 W. Allegan Street · Lansing, MI 48918 · 1-888-767-6424