Petition Against Redistricting Session Gains Momentum Among Hoosier Residents

Organizers of a petition drive against redistricting in Indiana say that any attempt to redraw the state's Congressional maps early ignores the will of voters. Representatives from groups including Common Cause Indiana, the League of Women Voters and Indiana Conservation Voters visited the offices of Governor Mike Braun, Senate President Pro Tempore Rod Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston, all Republicans, on Tuesday morning to deliver a petition with roughly 8,900 signatures from voters opposed to redistricting.

“It is very clear to us from our petition gathering, from letters and phone calls that have been made, that this is something that is being pushed from outsiders,” Common Cause Indiana Executive Director Julia Vaughn said. “People from outside Indiana want this to happen for purely political reasons but Hoosiers are opposed to it.”

The U.S. Constitution requires a census to be taken every 10 years. The data from the census is then used to draw Congressional districts, ensuring every district is as close in population as possible.

President Donald Trump this summer urged Republican state lawmakers across the country to redraw their maps to favor Republican candidates ahead of next year’s midterms. The Republican Party holds only a narrow majority in the U.S. House and the incumbent president's party often loses control of that chamber in the midterms.

Texas and California have already engaged in tit-for-tat redistricting sessions, and Missouri lawmakers are now changing their maps. Vaughn says that will further increase pressure on Indiana lawmakers to call their own session.

“We haven’t been afraid to be independent thinkers before,” she said. “Our purpose here is to demonstrate to our elected officials that Hoosiers don't want a special session. If you convene one, they will be unhappy about it and just leave well enough alone.”