Rockport, IN house districts

Problem 1: Communities split

Problem 1: Communities split

Morristown, IN Congressional districts

Congressional

District 8

Congressional

District 4

Problem 2: Lack of compactness

Congressional

District 8

Congressional

District 4

Milwaukee 203 mi

Mt. Vernon 218 mi

Monticello

Bedford

Problem 2: Lack of compactness

Problem 3: Lack of competition

• 40% of all legislative races lack major party opposition

• Half of House districts favor a party by more than 30%

• Since 2001, Senate leaders opposed 5 out of 16 opportunities.  House leaders 19 out of 32 times

9 Hamilton County House Districts

Problem 4: Voter confusion

(Also has 5 Senate districts)

Problem 5: Complicated election administration

• In Indiana, elections take 30,000 people to run 5500 precincts.  County clerks and poll workers must deal with multiple ballot variations.

• "In Tippecanoe County,  the Town of Battleground,  population 1,323, is split between two house districts.  District 26 represents some residents of Battleground;  District 41 represents the rest.This leads to phone calls from residents who are bewildered when the neighbor across the street got a different ballot than they did." - Linda Phillips, Clerk of the Tippecanoe County Circuit Court.

The solution:

Maps drawn based on….

– Keeping communities of interest together (21 states)

– Compactness (36 states)

– Following known community boundaries (44 states)

– No political data for partisanship (12 states do this)

What Is (Congressional)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

What Is (Congressional)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

Before: 12 counties and 20 townships split

After: 2 counties and two townships split

What Is (Indiana House)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

What Is (Indiana House)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

Before: 71 counties split

After: Only 46 counties split

What Is (Indiana Senate)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

What Is (Indiana Senate)

What Could Have Been(One of many possibilities)

What Could Have Been

Before: 48 counties split

After: Only 29 counties split. 63 have single Senator

Added Benefit: Nesting

– Each senate district could be split into two house districts

– More accountability– Less confusion

Nesting Example: Fayette, Union, Franklin, Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland and part of Ripley

Nesting Example

Rockport – a single house member

Morristown – one member of Congress

The Solution 1: Keep communities of interest together

Congressional

District 8

Today

Would this be better?

The Solution 2: Compact districts

Congressional

District 4

Would this be better?

The Solution 2: Compact districts

Hamilton County House Districts

Current (9) Would this be better? (4)

The Solution 3: Respect known community boundaries

The Solution 4: Prohibit use of partisan information

– No incumbent addresses– No voting history– Applies to the map drawing process

Why consider maps like this?

– More competition– More accountability for lawmakers– Easier access to lawmakers– Easier/less costly election administration

Redistricting Timeline:

January 2006 The Indiana House passed HB 1009, which contained several reforms including a

felony for using political data; never heard in the Senate

January 2009 Bills introduced in House and Senate; Resolution passes Senate calling for interim study committee

September 8, 2009Rethinking Redistricting is launched and Senator Long, publicly outlines histhoughts on redistricting

Fall 2009 Interim study committee meets to hear testimony on the subject of redistricting

Redistricting Timeline: Moving Forward

April 1, 2010 Census is taken

Feb-April 1, 2011    Census data is certified and delivered to the General Assembly

April 29, 2011        Deadline for General Assembly to pass bills adopting plans

May 2011               Deadline for Governor to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without signature

“Districts should make geographic, social, and economic sense, period, and Todd’s model maps serve as examples.  I look forward to signing a bill supported by leaders in both the Indiana House and Senate based on these principles that will create far more fair and responsible districts than today’s.”

Governor Mitch Daniels

-  They think you don’t care

-  This is how you prove them wrong

www.RethinkingRedistricting.com

– Sign up for e-mail alerts– Contact your legislator– Submit your own ideas– Start commenting

Next steps