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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.

First identified by that name in the early 19th century, gerrymandering occurs to varying degrees across the nation. In some states, it permits a slight advantage to the party in power; in others, it tilts the scales dramatically in favor of one party. Indiana falls into that latter group, perpetuating what a recent study commissioned by Women4Change Indiana reveals to be one of the most extreme examples of gerrymandering in the U.S. Conducted by nationally recognized democratic-governance expert Professor Christopher Warshaw, the study found that Indiana's electoral maps tilt more in favor of one party than 95% of all electoral maps enacted in the United States over the last 50 years.

Meetings are being conducted virtually by the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a project by All In 4 Democracy (a coalition of non-profits) to show how redistricting should work. Voters are invited to share their preferences for what nonpartisan redistricting criteria should guide Indiana’s map-drawing process, identify important communities of interest and how they should be grouped together, or kept separate, when the new congressional and legislative maps are drawn. The maps are drawn by the party in power in the General Assembly.

Now is the time to make your voice heard! The 9-member Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission has been selected from nearly 300 applicants. Its purpose is to demonstrate that redistricting done by a diverse and multi-partisan team of Hoosiers in a transparent process that encourages public participation will yield Congressional and state legislative districts that are fair for all voters.
The ICRC is holding virtual public hearings in all 9 Congressional districts. Hoosiers from all over the state may join these conversations to discuss the criteria for drawing new maps for congress and the Indiana legislature. More...