The Indiana legislature is set to redraw boundaries for congressional and statehouse districts this year, but some groups argue that allowing legislators to draw their own districts is unfair. One of those groups has been seeking citizen feedback on redistricting, including from northern Indiana’s District 2.
The nonpartisan elections organization Common Cause Indiana has formed a nine-member Citizens Redistricting Commission to demonstrate what redistricting could look like without legislative influence.
Over the last month, the commission has been holding public hearings with citizens from each of the state’s nine Congressional districts to hear what a fair district would look like to them.
At the District 2 hearing on Tuesday, competitiveness seemed to be residents’ main concern. One attendee from South Bend said Representative Jackie Walorski hasn’t faced adequate competition in the district, leading her to be less responsive to constituents.
“I would argue she feels safe in her district and doesn’t feel the need to do anything more than send a couple of government-paid mailers every election cycle,” he said.
The commission aims to use the feedback from each district to draw alternative state district and Congressional district maps. They expect to present the maps to state legislators when they meet to redraw boundaries.
Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.
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