DETROIT -- The first of five public hearings on the latest drafts of Michigan's new voting district maps takes place today in Detroit. The final maps will be used for the next decade of elections.

It is the first cycle with the state's new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, four and four, plus five Independents.

Quentin Turner, program director for Common Cause Michigan, said having a citizen-led, on-the-ground process is a big change from previous years, when whichever party in control in Lansing was able to shape the new maps.

"We have an independent commission, led by everyday Michiganders, who are taking in all this information, learning about the process, and then drawing lines not based off their political interests, but based off what Michigan voters and their input has informed them."

Turner thinks the draft maps can be improved, and said the Commission has been very receptive to public input. He added he hopes residents will make their voices heard in the next round of hearings.

Some states, like Maryland and Pennsylvania, have put policies in place to count people who are incarcerated as part of their home communities, rather than in the places they're imprisoned. Some Michiganders want the Commission to do the same, but so far, it has not.

Turner noted there is still time to make changes if people make their concerns known, and said issues like gerrymandering are what an independent commission is meant for.

"It'll help with ending prison gerrymandering, it'll help with eliminating the gerrymandered districts we have right now in Michigan," Turner contended. "And those are a threat to equitable distribution of resources and a threat to the democracy that's the heartbeat of our country."

Other hearings are planned for Thursday in Lansing, Friday in Grand Rapids, and next week on Monday in Gaylord and Tuesday in Flint. Folks interested in commenting can also do so on the Commission's website at michigan-mapping.org.

During Wisconsin's pandemic elections, absentee ballot drop boxes offered a different route for people to cast their votes, but a new decision in Waukesha County Circuit Court could bar their use in future elections.

Luke Berg, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, argued in a Thursday hearing for the group's lawsuit, drop boxes aren't mentioned anywhere in state law and therefore, are not permitted.

"What that means is there are no procedures, there are no requirements, there are no limitations on drop boxes, if they are allowed," Berg contended. "There are no restrictions on where they can go, on how many there can be, on how secure they should be."

An attorney for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the defendant in the suit, countered the drop boxes are covered under existing absentee-voting rules. Attorneys for intervening parties in the case also claimed the plaintiffs, two Waukesha County residents, did not have legal standing to bring the suit.

The Associated Press reports the judge's decision will still allow drop boxes at municipal clerks' offices. An appeal in the case is likely.

Steven Kilpatrick, assistant Attorney General, pushed back on the assertion the state lacks formal rules for drop boxes. He said the Commission has established guidelines for their installation and operation.

"The Commission is not advocating or recommending that municipal clerks leave a shoebox on a park bench to collect absentee ballots," Kilpatrick stressed.

Wisconsin GOP lawmakers have waged a months-long battle to restrict absentee voting. In August, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill which would have restricted drop-box locations.

According to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, more than 500 absentee-ballot drop boxes were established across the state ahead of the November 2020 election.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

As states continue to grapple with widespread use of messaging apps by government employees, one of the first proposed measures in Maryland's 2022 General Assembly aims to prevent its governors from using apps that automatically delete messages.

Last month, it was uncovered Gov. Larry Hogan regularly uses Wickr, an instant-messaging app some government agencies use for security against cyberthreats.

Del. Vaughn Stewart, D-Montgomery, pointed out Hogan's use of the app is set to automatically erase messages within 24 hours. Stewart is co-sponsoring the bill, claiming the use of Wickr conflicts with government transparency and public-records requirements.

"What we're worried about is the reported use by Governor Hogan to talk about sensitive topics involving state business," Stewart explained. "In particular, using this app to cover up earlier malfeasance in a way that would not be ever accessible to the public or to history."

Stewart noted Hogan used the platform to discuss much-lauded coronavirus tests he obtained from South Korea, which ended up being unusable. A spokesperson defended the governor's use of Wickr, saying there is nothing inappropriate about discussing news of the day on it.

Stewart's proposed bill first will address the fact the Maryland governor's office has not set up a document retention schedule with the state archive, as required by law for government agencies. Hogan has said his office is the head of the executive branch, not a unit of government, and is exempt. But Stewart disagrees.

"The governor is making an extremely dubious argument," Stewart contended. "No matter what you think of this self-delete app or that encrypted app, I think everyone can agree that the governor's office should not be the one exception to the law requiring a policy to begin with."

Stewart's bill is to be filed next week, and he's optimistic it will gain bipartisan support. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just approved a bill which outlaws state government agency employees from using similar apps. The bill passed both houses unanimously.

Dozens of mayors from around the country, including several from Ohio, are calling on the U.S. Senate to protect the right to vote and the integrity of elections.

Joe Begeny, mayor of Reynoldsburg, is among more than one hundred mayors who signed a letter in support of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.

He said it is all about ensuring fair representation, noting he has heard from residents who are concerned about policies that could alter election outcomes.

"Your local leaders have more interactions with the public than typically your average senator does," Begeny contended. "This isn't just a Washington inside-the-Beltway conversation about voting rights. This is actually something that affects every community all the way from the largest of the large cities to the smallest of the small."

The two bills would create standards for voting access in federal elections, including mandating early voting, creating an Election Day holiday, and setting uniform vote-counting rules. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio and other opponents argued the measures are an attempt to federalize elections, but supporters including Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, countered they are needed to counteract restrictive voting laws passed in more than a dozen states.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden gave an impassioned speech about the need for election reform, and supported calls by Democrats to change the filibuster in order to make it happen. Instead of getting caught up in the politics of chamber rules, Begeny believes senators should allow the bills to go to the floor where they can be debated on their merits.

"If senators do feel that this is an overburden on federal authority, then let them say so on the record and make their vote clear about where they stand on people's abilities to vote in the states that they represent," Begeny urged.

Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, is a vocal opponent of the measures, and has said election security should be left to the states. But Begeny noted not all states offer the same opportunities to vote, which he contends is especially problematic in federal elections.

"There's always questions, especially with the most recent election, about the viability, the legality or the correct results that were posted in there," Begeny outlined. "I think having a similar set of rules for all states to follow is a good direction to go."

The mayors of Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Elyria, Lorain, Toledo and Youngstown also signed a letter sent to the Senate majority and minority leaders in support of voting-rights reform.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.