Indiana redistricting advocates are creating and using a “Democracy Quilt,” featuring squares with messages about why mapping changes are needed, to send a message about the need to rebuild the fabric of democracy through redistricting and other voting reforms.
State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, is sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 14, a proposed amendment to the Indiana Constitution that would put a politically independent commission in charge of redistricting, instead of partisan members of the General Assembly.
The once-a-decade process of redrawing legislative district boundaries is over in the Hoosier State.
But advocates for a different kind of redistricting are just getting started in their efforts to change the system.
Members of the All IN for Democracy coalition last week converged on the Statehouse to encourage Indiana lawmakers to put a politically independent commission in charge of future redistrictings, instead of continuing to allow partisan members of the General Assembly to draw the lines.
“During the debate over redistricting last fall, Hoosiers from across the state denounced the current process that allows politicians to choose their voters,” said Julia Vaughn executive director of Common Cause Indiana, a coalition co-founder.
Three Democratic leaders in the Indiana Senate — Greg Taylor, J.D. Ford, and Fady Qaddoura — identify problems they see with the Republican-crafted redistricting plan
The redistricting advocates are creating and using a “Democracy Quilt,” featuring squares with messages about why mapping changes are important, to send a message about the need to rebuild the fabric of democracy through redistricting and other voting reforms.
Linda Hanson, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Indiana, said after thousands of Hoosiers got involved in redistricting debate last year, there’s a growing number of people who understand the importance of fair maps.
“The key to rebuilding our frayed democracy is redistricting reform, and the League of Women Voters of Indiana is excited about the new approach our coalition is pursuing and the grassroots energy around this most important issue,” Hanson said.
That new approach is a proposed amendment to the Indiana Constitution striking the authority of the General Assembly to control the redistricting process, and instead putting an independent redistricting commission in charge — with an obligation to draw maps “in an open and transparent manner” that “shall not favor any individual or political party.”
The amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 14, is unlikely to get a hearing in the Republican-controlled Senate, which last year adopted new district maps that all but guarantee the GOP retains the Senate majority it has enjoyed since 1978.
This episode of the “Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops” series takes viewers around Munster in the midst of the holiday season.
But redistricting advocates aren’t daunted. The next legislative redistricting isn’t due until 2031, and they believe a lot of hearts and minds can be changed in the meantime.
“The people recognize that legislative-controlled redistricting will always focus on partisan politics and if we want districts that serve the voters and communities, we’ve got to put a citizens commission in charge,” Vaughn said.
The Constitution requires new legislative districts be drawn every 10 years following the U.S. Census to account for population shifts and ensure a nearly equal number of inhabitants reside in each type of district.
State Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond
1st Senate District
Represents: Hammond (south side), Munster, Highland, Griffith, Dyer, Schererville
Experience: State senator 1978-95, 1998-present; retired banker
Committees: Homeland Security and Transportation; Insurance and Financial Institutions; Local Government (ranking member); Veterans Affairs and the Military
State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago
2nd Senate District
Represents: Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Gary (west side), Griffith, Hobart, Merrillville
Experience: State senator since 2008, previously served 1994-98; attorney
Committees: Commerce and Technology; Insurance and Financial Institutions (ranking member); Judiciary (ranking member); Rules and Legislative Procedure; Tax and Fiscal Policy; Utilities (ranking member)
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary
3rd Senate District
Represents: Gary, Lake Station, New Chicago, Hobart, Merrillville, Crown Point
Experience: State senator since 2016; community relations manager
Committees: Appropriations (ranking member); Education and Career Development; Health and Provider Services; Joint Rules; Rules and Legislative Procedure
State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton
4th Senate District
Represents: Ogden Dunes, Portage, Chesterton, South Haven, Burns Harbor, Beverly Shores, Michigan City, Westville
Experience: State senator since 2021; attorney
Committees: Corrections and Criminal Law (ranking member); Environmental Affairs; Local Government; Pensions and Labor; Public Policy
State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso
5th Senate District
Represents: Valparaiso, Hebron, Kouts, Jasper County
Experience: State senator since 2007; attorney
Committees: Appropriations; Ethics; Health and Provider Services (chairman); Rules and Legislative Procedure; Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell
6th Senate District
Represents: St. John, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, Winfield, Lowell, Newton County
Experience: State senator since 2014, state representative 2012-14; small business owner
Committees: Environmental Affairs; Local Government; Tax and Fiscal Policy
State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
8th Senate District
Represents: LaPorte County
Experience: State senator since 2016; consultant
Committees: Corrections and Criminal Law; Insurance and Financial Institutions; Judiciary; Local Government
State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond
1st House District
Represents: Hammond, Whiting
Experience: State representative since 2018; retired Cook County, Ill., probation officer
Committees: Environmental Affairs; Family, Children and Human Affairs; Natural Resources
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago
2nd House District
Represents: East Chicago, Gary (west side)
Experience: State representative since 2016; small business owner
Committees: Government and Regulatory Reform; Roads and Transportation; Ways and Means
State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary
3rd House District
Represents: Gary (downtown and east side), Lake Station, New Chicago, Hobart
Experience: State representative since 2018; attorney
Committees: Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development; Courts and Criminal Code (ranking member); Government and Regulatory Reform
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso
4th House District
Represents: Valparaiso
Experience: State representative since 2006; aviation safety consultant
Committees: Elections and Apportionment; Roads and Transportation; Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications (chairman)
State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City
9th House District
Represents: Michigan City, Chesterton, Beverly Shores, Long Beach, Westville
Experience: State representative since 2018; retired small business owner
Committees: Environmental Affairs; Natural Resources (ranking member)
State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage
10th House District
Represents: Portage, Chesterton, Ogden Dunes, Burns Harbor, South Haven
Experience: State representative since 2008; financial solutions associate
Committees: Employment, Labor and Pensions; Roads and Transportation (ranking member); Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron
11th House District
Represents: St. John, Cedar Lake, Lowell, Schneider, Hebron, Kouts
Experience: State representative since 2014; farmer, former state environmental regulator
Committees: Agriculture and Rural Development (vice chairman); Courts and Criminal Code; Environmental Affairs
State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster
12th House District
Represents: Munster, Hammond (south side), Highland, Griffith
Experience: State representative since 2020; small businessman
Committees: Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development; Employment, Labor and Pensions; Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary
14th House District
Represents: Gary (south side), Merrillville
Experience: State representative since 1990; education professor at Indiana University Northwest
Committees: Education (ranking member); Judiciary; Local Government
State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville
15th House District
Represents: Dyer, Schererville, St. John, Griffith
Experience: State representative 2012-18, reelected 2020; small business owner
Committees: Environmental Affairs; Ways and Means
State Rep. Douglas Gutwein, R-Francesville
16th House District
Represents: Newton, Jasper counties
Experience: State representative since 2008; small business owner
Committees: Agriculture and Rural Development; Environmental Affairs (vice chairman); Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point
19th House District
Represents: Crown Point, Merrillville, Winfield, Lakes of the Four Seasons, Hobart
Experience: State representative 2014-2018, reelected 2020; small business owner
Committees: Family, Children and Human Affairs; Public Health (vice chairwoman); Veterans Affairs and Public Safety
State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie
20th House District
Represents: LaPorte County
Experience: State representative since 2016; small business owner
Committees: Commerce, Small Business and Economic Development; Roads and Transportation (chairman)
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New district boundaries for the Lake County commissioners and county council were finalized Friday in the same spirit of bipartisan cooperation that’s defined this iteration of the once-a-decade task.
Barring an unexpected partisan shift, the new maps ensure Republicans will control both chambers of the General Assembly, along with at least seven U.S. House seats, for the next decade.
The process of redrawing the boundaries of the state’s nine congressional districts, 100 Indiana House districts, and 50 Senate districts to adjust for population shifts over the past 10 years is complete.
“There is a serious effort right now throughout the entire country to suppress the participation of minorities,” said state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago. “We need to wake up to that.”
The full Senate is due to consider additional proposed changes to the maps Thursday, ahead of a vote expected Friday to approve the revised redistricting plan.
For more than two hours, citizens from across the state, including Northwest Indiana, criticized the Republican-led panel for crafting new legislative district boundaries.
House Democrats criticized the redistricting plans for maintaining Republican dominance of Indiana government and for giving Hoosiers very little time to review the new maps before rushing them into law.
Northwest Indiana likely will have at least one new state senator next year if the redistricting plan proposed Tuesday by the Senate Republican majority caucus is enacted into law.
The House Elections Committee acted along party lines Monday to advance to the full chamber its plans for Indiana’s new congressional and state legislative district boundaries.
“Please reconsider the rushed timeline,” pleaded Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana policy director. “Take your maps around the state for public review.”
“We were either chasing population or dragging it,” said state Rep. Greg Steuerwald. “But you can only drag population so far, and that’s why you’ll notice a lot of new districts in areas with growing populations.”
Northwest Indiana will continue to comprise a single congressional district if the new legislative boundaries under consideration at the Indiana Statehouse are enacted into law.
Lake County remains the second-most populous in the Hoosier State with 498,700 inhabitants, an increase of 2,695, or 0.5%, compared to 2010.
A top state lawmaker is calling for a second round of statewide public hearings on redistricting because new legislative district maps won’t be available for Hoosiers to view in early August.
A public hearing for Northwest Indiana residents to tell state lawmakers what to prioritize in redistricting is set for 3 p.m. Aug. 6 at Ivy Tech Community College, 3100 Ivy Tech Drive, Valparaiso.
Indiana redistricting advocates are creating and using a “Democracy Quilt,” featuring squares with messages about why mapping changes are needed, to send a message about the need to rebuild the fabric of democracy through redistricting and other voting reforms.
State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, is sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 14, a proposed amendment to the Indiana Constitution that would put a politically independent commission in charge of redistricting, instead of partisan members of the General Assembly.
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