Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles cases falling within the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, referred the case to the full court, which denied the request for a stay in the January order.

After the denial, the redistricting commission completed the redraw of 15 House districts that were given final approval by the three-judge panel in March. The panel was made up of Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Kethledge and federal district court judges Paul Maloney and Janet Neff.

The new House maps will be used in the November House elections.

The commission has started its redraw of the Senate maps ruled unconstitutional. The next Senate election is not until 2026.

The redraw and appeal stem from a December order that found 13 state House and Senate seats in Detroit violated the Equal Protection Clause because they were drawn with race as the predominating factor. Kethledge, Maloney and Neff ordered the 13 districts be redrawn and prohibited the districts from being used in future elections.

They've appointed two special masters to assist in the process. One was appointed to draw separate maps that the judges could use if the commission was unable to draw maps to meet constitutional requirements. A second special master was appointed to review the commission's redrawn maps and make a formal recommendation on approval or rejection to the judges.

The commission estimated in January that the special masters' work — which the commission is tasked with paying — will cost it another $320,000. The special masters' official invoices, however, have not yet been submitted to the commission.

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