Michigan House of Representatives District 46

Michigan House of Representatives District 46 is represented by Kathy Schmaltz (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Michigan state representatives represented an average of 91,677 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 90,106 residents.

About the office

Members of the Michigan House of Representatives serve two-year terms with term limits.^[1] Michigan legislators assume office at noon on the first day of January.^[2]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 7 of Article 4 of the Michigan Constitution states, "Each senator and representative must be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, and an elector of the district he represents. The removal of his domicile from the district shall be deemed a vacation of the office. No person who has been convicted of subversion or who has within the preceding 20 years been convicted of a felony involving a breach of public trust shall be eligible for either house of the legislature."^[3]

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[4]
Salary	Per diem
$71,685/year	No per diem is paid. Legislators receive an expense allowance of $10,800/year for session and interim.

Term limits

See also: State legislatures with term limits

The Michigan legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. The legislature has been term-limited since Michigan voters approved the Michigan Term Limits Act in 1992. The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was 2002.

In 2022, Michigan voters modified the term limits for Michigan state legislative members. Voters passed Michigan Proposal 1 in November 2022 which changed the term limits for state legislators from three two-year terms in the state House and two four-year terms in the state Senate to 12 combined years in the Legislature.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Michigan State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election to fill the vacancy or direct that the vacancy be filled at the next general election.^[5]^[6]

If the vacancy happens after the statewide primary election, the party organizations in the district select the party's nominee. The nominee must be voted on no later than 21 days after the vacancy occurred and at least 10 days before the general election.^[7]

See sources: Michigan Const. Art. 5, § 13

District map

Redistricting

2020-2024

See also: Redistricting in Michigan after the 2020 census

On July 26, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan approved state Senate district boundaries submitted by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) on June 27, 2024, and authorized Michigan's secretary of state to implement the plan for the 2026 elections:^[8]

“

On December 21, 2023, we unanimously held that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it drew the boundaries of thirteen state-legislative districts—seven House districts, and six Senate—predominantly on the basis of race. We therefore enjoined the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, from holding further elections in those districts as they were drawn. ... The Commission has now submitted a revised Senate map, which Plaintiffs agree 'eliminates the predominate use of race that characterized' the previous plan. ... We have reviewed the record before us and agree that the new Senate map complies with this court’s December 21, 2023, opinion and order. ... Federal law provides us no basis to reject the Commission’s remedial Senate plan. The Secretary of State may proceed to implement the Commission’s remedial Senate plan for the next election cycle.^[9]

”

The MICRC voted on June 26 to approve the state Senate map called Crane A1.^[10]

On March 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan approved new state House district boundaries drawn by the MICRC for use in the 2024 elections. According to the court order:^[11]

“

On December 21, 2023, we unanimously held that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it drew the boundaries of thirteen state-legislative districts—seven House districts, and six Senate—predominantly on the basis of race. We therefore enjoined the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, from holding further elections in those districts as they are currently drawn. ... The Commission has now submitted a revised House plan, to which the plaintiffs have submitted several objections. We have reviewed the record before us and now overrule those objections.^[9]

”

The MICRC voted 10-3 on February 28, 2024, to adopt the new state House map known as “Motown Sound FC E1."

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan struck down the state House and Senate maps on December 21, 2023.^[12]

State Senate map

State House map

Reactions to 2024 state legislative maps (Senate)

After the court approved the Crane A1 map, independent MICRC commissioner Anthony Eid said:^[13]

“

There’s certainly been a lot of ups and downs throughout this process. ... There have been things that as a commission we’ve gotten right and things we’ve gotten wrong. We’re currently in the middle of putting together a report that will go over a few of those things in great detail. But I think right now we’re just happy and relieved that we made it this far.^[9]

”

Following the MICRC's selection of the new map, Republican commissioner Cynthia Orton said:^[14]

“

I felt strongly that Crane A1 did answer the requirements that we needed to follow and what the court had ordered. ... I’m glad everyone was able to vote their conscience, vote what they felt was best.^[9]

”

Democratic MICRC vice chair Brittni Kellom said:^[15]

“

I don’t think that Crane A1 is the best representation for what Detroit citizens and beyond have expressed.^[9]

”

Reactions to 2024 state legislative maps (House)

The Executive Director of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, Edward Woods III, said the following in a news conference:^[16]

“

Democracy won ... Despite doubts and concerns raised, the commission demonstrated once again that it could focus on its purpose to draw fair maps with citizen input. ... We appreciate the public input that overwhelmingly favored the Motown Sound FC E1 in making our job easier. We now have a clear road map to follow in completing the remedial State Senate plan.^[9]

”

Independent Commissioner Rebecca Szetela, who did not vote for the map, said:^[16]

“

I wish we could have agreed to make those changes to (districts) 16, 17, and 18 because I would have considered voting for it if those changes had been made.^[9]

”

Former state House member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo was one of the plaintiffs in the Donald Agee, Jr. v. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson case that led to the new House map. In a statement to the Michigan Advance, she reacted to the new map:^[16]

“

While our expert Sean Trende demonstrated that the Motown Sound Map does not provide the greatest number of Black majority seats with the highest Black voting age population, we embrace the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that ‘the Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ and as such we are grateful that the Agee v. Benson lawsuit yielded a greater opportunity for Detroit voters to elect a candidate of their choice in seven house districts. Our focus now turns towards educating the community on the House Map changes, and drawing a new Senate map.^[9]

”

District map after 2020 redistricting

Michigan House of Representatives District 46
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Michigan House of Representatives District 46
after 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Kathy Schmaltz defeated Daniel Mahoney in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 46 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kathy Schmaltz (R)	52.1	21,563
	Daniel Mahoney (D)	47.9	19,851

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,414
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 46

Daniel Mahoney advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 46 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Mahoney	100.0	5,914

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,914
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 46

Incumbent Kathy Schmaltz advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 46 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathy Schmaltz	100.0	6,174

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,174
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.