The ruling will have a big impact on Michigan next year, but not so much in the years following.

The Supreme Court today said federal courts should stay out of political disputes when it released its decision today. Voters Not Politicians, which was founded as a ballot initiative to end gerrymandering, says it’s about more than that.

“In 2018, Voters Not Politicians sponsored the ballot initiative to write into our state constitution an independent or citizen’s district commission. That commission is forming,” said Voters Not Politicians Executive Director Nancy Wang.

The creation of that commission means Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling won’t have a longterm impact in Michigan. However, it does end the lawsuit over Michigan’s current state legislature and congressional districts, which will be used for next year’s elections, which Wang is disappointed by.

“The lower court here in our case has found that Michigan voters have already suffered through four election cycles with rigged maps and that we shouldn’t have to suffer through another one. Unfortunately after today, it looks like we’re going to have to,” said Wang.

The lower court ordered the legislature to redraw the maps for the 2020 elections. Now, they’ll stay the same until the independent commission takes over the redistricting process after next year’s census.

Wang says states that don’t have the same ballot initiative process as Michigan need to rely on the courts to protect voting rights. She says those voters have been let down.

“It really is the court’s role, we believe, to protect the voters in that case and they failed to do that today,” said Wang.

Voters Not Politicians say they plan to help their partners in other states legislate redistricting.

The redistricting process in Michigan could be even uglier because the state is expected to lose a seat in Congress after the next census.