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Indiana House committee makes small changes to redistricting maps

Brandon Smith / IPB News

A panel of lawmakers made minor changes to state House and Congressional redistricting maps Monday.

The House Elections Committee then voted to send the maps to the full House.

Committee Chair Rep. Tim Wesco (R-Osceola) said the changes were based in part on feedback from Hoosiers in last week’s public hearings. For instance, he said one change was because of concerns that an apartment complex in Fort Wayne was divided between two state House districts.

“To ensure that that entire apartment complex was in a single district as well as seeking to have two districts entirely within the city limits of Fort Wayne,” Wesco said.

READ MORE: House Republican Leaders Defend Proposed Redistricting Maps

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The committee’s changes also ensured that the nine congressional districts are almost exactly the same population.

Democrats didn’t object to the changes. But members did raise familiar complaints – the new maps, said Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington), preserve an unfair status quo.

“Kind of packing and cracking the Democratic constituencies to water down the influence of that vote,” he said.

The full House will vote on the redistricting maps later this week.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.