Voter-advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause Indiana, MADVoters and Indiana Conservation Voters also appeared at the protest and distributed information to attendees.
Northwest Indiana native Georgia Hatfield arrived at the Statehouse dressed in a red gown inspired by Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Hatfield believes the political state of Indiana can be compared to that of fiction.
“Indiana has been mostly—predominantly—red, so for this many people, including Republicans to say no to this, you want this governor to stop as well,” she said.
Stanley Walter of Fishers was seated on the marble steps behind the crowd, listening to the speakers. He had set foot in the Statehouse for the first time Tuesday to add his energy to the yelling and sign waving in order to support the lawmakers who are opposing the effort to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps mid-decade.
“As futile as it may seem to be, I’m trying to do what I can do to stop (President Donald Trump) from destroying the country,” Walter said, echoing a common accusation that the push to redistrict comes from Washington, D.C., and is not something Hoosiers want.
However, Walter was not hopeful the protesters would be successful in stopping the legislature from passing a new map. The opposition, he said, cannot compete against the “money, money, money” the proponents of redistricting have.
Like Walter, Carita Girman from Marion County came to the rally in order to convince any Republicans who are “on the bubble” about redistricting that they will have the support of voters if they oppose the new map. She said she was optimistic the redistricting effort will fail in the Statehouse.
“Maybe I’m dreaming, but I still have hope,” Girman said.
The proposed map splits Indiana’s 1st and 7th congressional districts, which are currently the only two of Indiana’s nine seats held by Democrats. Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, ignited the crowd by asserting the new map is targeting Northwest Indiana, home of the 1st Congressional District, because it is a part of the state where Black and brown voters have real political power.
“We gave this state its steel, its labor, its economic backbone, and in return, we got pollution, plant closures, rising poverty, shrinking services and a state government that has too often turned its back,” Hatcher said. “But even through all of that, we held on to something that no legislature could steal—our voice, our ability to send representatives to Washington who understand our history, our struggle and our hope. Now in the special session, that is exactly what they’re putting on the chopping block.”
Friends Cynthia Stephens and David Monroe arrived in opposition to political gerrymandering, they said. Notably, the pair isn’t new to protesting; they have travelled each month to Washington, D.C., since last December in support of various other causes.
“We don’t like it, and we’re gonna fight until the end. We’re not gonna stop,” said Stephens.
Christina from Carmel, who declined to give her last name, was also coming to the Statehouse for the first time. She said she was inspired to join the protest because mid-decade redistricting is “just so wrong.”
Whether the protest would actually convince a majority of the legislators to vote against the new map, Christina was uncertain. But, she said, “I think we got to try.”
For now, the conversation on redistricting will halt until Tuesday, when the House Elections and Apportionment Committee will meet to discuss House Bill 1032, authored by Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn.
Marilyn Odendahl of The Indiana Citizen contributed to this story.
Chloe White is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.
