Section 3.63 - Redistricting plan; guidelinesExcept as otherwise required by federal law for congressional districts in this state, the redistricting plan shall be enacted using only these guidelines in the following order of priority:
(a) The constitutional guideline is that each congressional district shall achieve precise mathematical equality of population in each district.(b) The federal statutory guidelines in no order of priority are as follows: (i) Each congressional district shall be entitled to elect a single member.(ii) Each congressional district shall not violate section 2 of title I of the voting rights act of 1965, Public Law 89-110, 42 U.S.C. 1973.(c) The secondary guidelines in order of priority are as follows:(i) Each congressional district shall consist of areas of convenient territory contiguous by land. Areas that meet only at points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.(ii) Congressional district lines shall break as few county boundaries as is reasonably possible.(iii) If it is necessary to break county lines to achieve equality of population between congressional districts as provided in subdivision (a), the number of people necessary to achieve population equality shall be shifted between the 2 districts affected by the shift.(iv) Congressional district lines shall break as few city and township boundaries as is reasonably possible.(v) If it is necessary to break city or township lines to achieve equality of population between congressional districts as provided in subdivision (a), the number of people necessary to achieve population equality shall be shifted between the 2 districts affected by the shift.(vi) Within a city or township to which there is apportioned more than 1 congressional district, district lines shall be drawn to achieve the maximum compactness possible.(vii) Compactness shall be determined by circumscribing each district within a circle of minimum radius and measuring the area, not part of the Great Lakes and not part of another state, inside the circle but not inside the district.(viii) If a discontiguous township island exists within an incorporated city or discontiguous portions of townships are split by an incorporated city, the splitting of the township shall not be considered a split if any of the following circumstances exist: (A) The city must be split to achieve equality of population between congressional districts as provided in subdivision (a) and it is practicable to keep the township together within 1 district.(B) A township island is contained within a whole city and a split of the city would be required to keep the township intact.(C) The discontiguous portion of a township cannot be included in the same district with another portion of the same township without creating a noncontiguous district.(ix) Each congressional district shall be numbered in a regular series, beginning with congressional district 1 in the northwest corner of the state and ending with the highest numbered district in the southeast corner of the state.1999, Act 221, Eff. 3/10/2000.