A meeting hosted by the commission in charge of redistricting in Michigan was delayed for hours over a death threat, a spokesman for the commission told NBC News.
“At 1:06 p.m. today, the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission received notification of a death threat received through email. We alerted law enforcement and they opened an investigation,” Edward Woods III, communications and outreach director for the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, said in a text to NBC News.
U.S. states redraw their district maps for national and local elections based on Census data routinely, in a process known as redistricting. The process has become incredibly political in recent years, with lawmakers in both parties carving out political advantages for themselves through the process. In 2018, Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative that tasked an independent commission of citizens to handle the map drawing instead of lawmakers.
The hearing allowed Michigan residents to give feedback on proposed district maps, either virtually or in-person. It was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET, with the in-person component taking place at a Michigan State University facility in East Lansing.
It reconvened after 3 p.m., and commissioners voted to reduce the amount of time members of the public could speak to 30 seconds, from the usual one minute.
Representatives for the East Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Police and MSU’s campus police did not immediately return a request for comment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
