Redistricting: What Is It and Why Should Anyone Care?

Written by Sunny Leerkamp, Chair, Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission

and Co-Vice President, League of Women Voters of Brown County

July, 2021

Once every 10 years the United States conducts a census and the results of that are used to divide populations into voting districts at the state and national level. This process is mandated to ensure that changes in population can be reflected in creating equal representation in Congress and state legislatures. The process is called “redistricting.” 

There are at least five fundamental reasons why voters need to understand redistricting and why they need to care about it: 

1. Placing voters in districts is at the foundation of the concept of one person/one vote. 

2. The district you are placed in determines who represents you at the state and national

    level. 

3. Who represents you determines whether or not your voice is actually heard. 

4. How the districts are drawn determines whether you get to pick your representatives

    or the representatives get to pick their voters. 

5. Achieving fair maps is the key to fair elections. 

In many states, including Indiana, state legislators are in charge of drawing the redistricting maps. This creates a clear conflict of interest. Across the nation and throughout our history, this process has allowed the majority party, whether Democrat or Republican, to largely control the redistricting process and has frequently resulted in an abuse of the process called “gerrymandering.”

Gerrymandering allows legislators to look at partisan information and create safe districts for individuals representing their party and unfavorable to their opposition. Gerrymandering contributed to a result in the last two Indiana congressional elections where Republicans garnered 57% of the vote, but 78% of the seats, while Democrats received 42% of the vote and only 22% of the seats. These numbers fly in the face of the concept of one person/one vote. 

Recently Dr. Christopher Warshaw, a national expert on gerrymandering, was commissioned to analyze why one party in Indiana holds such a disproportionate supermajority in the General Assembly and congressional delegation. After looking at the maps drawn in 2011, his findings showed: 

• Indiana’s current electoral maps are more tilted in favor of one party than 95% of all the maps enacted in the United States over the last 50 years.

• Indiana’s bias is worse than those of its neighboring states of Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois.

• Indiana’s maps dilute minority party votes by packing Democratic voters into a few heavily Democratic districts.

• The maps eliminate many competitive districts that would otherwise elect moderate representatives.

• Indiana’s geography did not cause these unfair maps; Indiana’s redistricting commission did. 

(The full report can be found at www.women4changeindiana.org/redistricting.)

The lack of fair representation through fairly-drawn maps in Indiana has resulted in an outcry of individuals who feel unheard and ignored by their representatives. This has been vocally expressed in the 10 public hearings held by the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a multi-partisan representative group selected by a coalition of organizations interested in creating fair maps for Indiana. This commission is analyzing why Indiana's voter turnout is in 42nd place out of 50 states, and eight out of nine congressional races were won by more than 16 percentage points. Voter apathy due to the lack of competition is at the heart of the problem and apathy is created by voters not feeling heard. By drawing maps to favor a political party, voting power is diluted and communities are split. In addition, and importantly, fair representation is directly related to talent recruitment and retention of valuable human resources that our state produces. People are choosing to move to other states where they feel their interests can be represented, rather than staying in Indiana. 

The ICRC invites everyone to take an interest in the redistricting process. Every Hoosier voter has a vested interest in joining the Commission in its efforts to protect the important role of every voter in our democracy. The Commission will be holding an open competition for maps to be submitted for prizes after the census data is available in August of this year. You can go the website at www.districtr.org

and practice drawing your own maps and submit them for prizes, later to be announced. The Commission is committed to taking the best maps submitted to the legislature for their consideration. If their own maps do not satisfy tests of fairness and impartiality, we want to be able to ask them why! 

For more information or actions you can take, please email LWVBC:  browncountylwv@gmail.com.

A Letter to the Editor of the Brown County Democrat from League President Shari Frank, March 12, 2019

Why do We Need Fair Redistricting in Indiana?

Someone recently said they are not in favor of Redistricting because for the first time in nearly 30 years, Brown County has two representatives, Senator Eric Koch and Representative Chris May, who pay attention to and are really helping Brown County with Brown County issues!  It is such a treat, they said, because in the past, Brown County was split into different districts, and none of the multiple representatives paid any attention to Brown County.  The current districts, formed after the 2010 census, seem to provide fair representation in this person’s view, but the prior districts did not.  This concern is exactly why we need Fair Redistricting criteria for the redistricting to take place after the 2020 census.    

 The past 30 years represented three very different shaped districts affecting Brown County.  The current districts were formed after the 2010 census.  Previous districts were formed after the prior two censuses that were taken in 1990 and 2000.  If you want to see the prior districts after each census, go to the website https://what-the-district.aclu.org/ and enter your zip code.  You will be amazed at how the district shapes have changed.  

 Redistricting is the process of setting up political divisions, or districts, to vote for Congressional and State legislative positions.  Voting districts must have nearly equal populations, so they are adjusted every 10 years after the census is taken.  After the 2020 census, population changes will require adjusting district lines.  Both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of gerrymandering, or forming districts to advantage their party.  It undermines the power of individual votes.  It undermines democracy.  Indiana needs criteria in place to make sure people who have shared interests, like the people of Brown County, will be kept together in the same district.
 

 What Margin of Victory (MOV) indicates Elections are Competitive and Fair?

 Margin of victory (MOV) is the difference between the percent of popular vote received by the winning candidate, and the percent of the popular vote received by the runner up candidate.  State-wide elections are not affected by voting districts.  Looking at state-wide voting in the 2018 election, Republican Mike Braun won the U.S. Senate race with 50.7 % of the popular vote, to 44.8% of the vote for Democrat Joe Donnelly - a margin of victory (MOV) of 5.9%.  Pretty competitive!  
 

 If we believe that elected representatives should reflect the public at large, elections should be competitive.  Elections should ensure a FAIR chance for different groups to elect someone representing their views.  An election is generally considered competitive when the margin of victory is 10% or less. 

 How Competitive were Indiana State-wide Elections?  

 In state-wide Indiana elections, not affected by grouping voters into political divisions or districts, the margin of victory ranges are relativelycompetitive.  Secretary of State Connie Lawson won against her Democratic opponent with an MOV of 15.6%. The MOV for State Auditor was 14.5 %, and the MOV for State Treasurer was 17.2%.  

 Since these elections are not affected by district lines, we could use these higher MOVs, and even round up to use a 20% margin of victory (MOV) to evaluate competitiveness of races that are dependent on district lines.  So, how competitive are our district dependent elections?  

 What are Election Results from Voting Districts?

 After the 2018 Indiana election, we have 50 State Senators:  40 Republican, 10 Democratic.  The Indiana State House has 100 Representatives:  67 Republicans and 33 Democrats.  Do these results indicate that Indiana is 60%-70% Republican?  Or are the voting district divisions resulting in an unfair advantage for one party?
 

 High Margin of Victory (MOV) in elections shows lack of competitiveness.  Results from 2018 Indiana Elections show: 

·      In Indiana Senate elections, 64% (16) had an MOV over 20%, with 24 % (6) of 25 Senate candidates had no opponent (100% MOV).  

·      In the Indiana House elections, 74% had an MOV greater than 21%, 26% were won with fairly competitive races with less than 20% MOV; 31 House races were uncontested (an MOV of 100%)!

·      In the Indiana US Congressional elections, 66% had MOV above 28%, only 3 had MOV less than 20%.  

 Next Step: Write to Your Representatives and Ask Them to Vote for FAIR REDISTRICTING Legislation!

 Senate Bill SB 105 is a good start toward Fair Redistricting.  The Indiana Senate passed the bill, and it’s now in the Indiana House. The bill would be better if it included criteria to ensure voting districts are fair and representative of the state population, and to include transparency of the criteria used, and a mechanism for citizens can weigh in if they feel their community will be harmed by new districts.  

 It’s important to let your representative know if you want this bill to become law!  There are so many bills and topics being considered, citizen action is essential to help this bill get a hearing, and to help it pass. The chair of the House Elections Committee will decide if SB 105 even gets a hearing.  Write to let him know you’d like fair redistricting:  Rep. Tim Wesco, email:  H21@iga.in.gov.  At the same time, it is important to contact our state representatives to ask them to vote for this bill.  In Brown County our representative is Chris May whose email is H65@iga.in.gov. While emails are important, hand written letters are also powerful.  Letters can be sent to (representative’s name) at 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN.  46204. We are asking our representatives to develop districts that ensure every person’s vote matters.
 

 For More Information

You can get more information on redistricting and other voter rights issues from www.allinfordemocracy.org/, www.commoncause.org/indiana/, and www.lwvin.org

Download Our Redistricting brochure

You Can Help Indiana Develop Fair Maps!  

Fair Voting Depends on it!