Commentary: How redistricting congressional districts can undermine majority rule
This analysis, written by Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University, was first published in The Conversation, a Massachusetts-based independent, nonprofit news organization. It was adapted and republished, with an Indiana-specific introduction by Professor Hershey, in the Bloomington-based Limestone Post, under a Creative Commons license, and is republished here with the permission of The Conversation and the Limestone Post. *** Redistricting in Indiana has already been completed, governing elections for the next decade. The overwhelmingly Republican state legislative majority redrew the state’s U.S. House district map only slightly, mainly to strengthen the GOP lean of a suburban…
RESPONSE ON INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING: State hasn’t changed the law, and ‘our council has followed state statute’
With their public hearings on the upcoming redrawing of district lines under way, Democratic leaders of the Indianapolis City-County Council are hearing renewed calls for the independent redistricting commission that they urged upon their counterparts in the Republican-led Indiana General Assembly. Council leaders have not agreed to the request. And while council policy director Brandon Herget would not say if the idea had been ruled out, he noted in an interview with The Indiana Citizen that the state legislature still has not changed the law requiring the council itself to redraw the districts. Council President Vop Osili did not respond to requests…
In township hearings, city-county redistricting process is under way with familiar complaints
The following report from Indianapolis Recorder writer Tyler Fenwick was first published in the Recorder, and is shared through The Indiana Citizen redistricting reporting project. *** No, you’re not stuck in a time loop. Redistricting is happening again, this time locally with Indianapolis City-County Council districts, and the early stages of the process suggest it could play out in a similar fashion to what happened in 2021 at the state level. Through two forums in Perry and Lawrence townships, where residents could talk about their concerns and priorities, there are already familiar themes. There have been calls for an independent…
‘DO THE RIGHT THING:’ Reformers urge City-County Council to adopt independent redistricting
Common Cause Indiana and its allies are calling on the Democratic-controlled Indianapolis City-County Council to “do the right thing” and turn the redrawing of council districts into a nonpartisan affair. “That would really send a message that would resonate the five or six blocks that separate the City-County Building from the Statehouse,” the group’s policy director, Julia Vaughn, said Monday night in a webinar for supporters. “Believe me, that message would be heard.” Vaughn said city officials should: Put redistricting in the hands of an independent commission that would draw new districts without partisan influence. Bring citizens into the process,…
City-County Council announces public hearings on redistricting
The Indianapolis City-County Council has announced a series of nine public hearings, one in each of Marion County's nine townships, on the redistricting process that will take place in 2022. "The effort marks the first time in Indianapolis history that the Council is beginning the redistricting process with a public information and engagement campaign,'' according to a council news release announcing the hearings. The council's Democratic leadership has shared few details of their plans for the redrawing of the council's 25 districts based upon 2020 census results, including whether they will adopt the independent redistricting approach that the council urged…
With candidate filing less than a week away, St. Joseph County’s district lines are unresolved
UPDATE: The infighting over St. Joseph County's redistricting process continued this week as the Republican-controlled Board of County Commissioners vetoed "contingency" maps redrawn by the County Council, only to have the veto overridden by the Democrat-led council. The actions leave the council district lines unresolved as 2022 primary candidate filing is set to begin in early January, and further set the stage for litigation that has been signalled by council Democrats, the South Bend Tribune reported. *** EARLIER: With barely a week left to finalize new district maps, the St. Joseph County Council finds itself sorting through separate proposals from…