Redistricting in Indiana after the 2010 census
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 9 min
 in Indiana |
| Note: Redistricting takes place every 10 years after completion of the United States Census. The information here pertains to the 2010 redistricting process. For information on more recent redistricting developments, see this article. |
| Redistricting in Indiana | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Partisan control: Republican | |
| Process: Legislative authority (5-member commission if legislature fails to meet deadline) | |
| Deadline: April 29, 2011 for legislature | |
| Total seats | |
| Congress: 9 | |
| State Senate: 50 | |
| State House: 100 | |
This article details the timeline of redistricting events in Indiana following the 2010 census. It also provides contextual information about the redistricting process and census information.
Process[edit]
- See also: State-by-state redistricting procedures
In Indiana, the General Assembly had the authority in drawing legislative and congressional boundaries. The Senate Committee on Elections and the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment were tasked with redrawing the boundaries. Lawmakers were on deadlines for redistricting. If the deadline was not met, a special redistricting commission would be formed. The five person commission would consist of the House Speaker, Senate President, Committee Chairpersons of elections and redistricting committees in both houses, and an additional appointee by the Governor. The Governor had the power to veto any redistricting plan for any reason.[1][2]
With respect to redistricting, the Indiana Constitution gave authority to the General Assembly in Section 5 of Article 4.
Leadership[edit]
2011[edit]
Redistricting Committee members[edit]
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Census results[edit]
When the Census figures were released on December 21, 2010, Indiana retained its allotment of nine congressional districts.[3]
Congressional redistricting[edit]
March 2011: Democrats launched redistricting website[edit]
Indiana's Democratic Caucus, which was a minority in the state house and senate, launched a redistricting website. According to Democrats, the website was intended to promote compact districts that preserved communities of interest and protected minorities. In addition, the site was intended to solicit public input and promote the development of an independent commission for redistricting.[4]
March 2011: Democrats proposed maps[edit]
The Indiana Democratic Caucus released its own maps for the Indiana State Senate and Indiana Congressional delegation. The party argued that the maps were more compact than previous decades and better preserved local communities. The party also acknowledged the maps would make Democratic candidates more competitive.[5]
April 2011: Maps proposed[edit]
Proposed maps were released on April 11, detailing changes to the state's congressional districts. The maps were created by the Republican-controlled legislature.
One Congressman, Rep. Todd Rokita (R), was drawn outside his district. However, Rokita was not required by the US Constitution or Indiana law to reside within the district. Since he lived only 500 yards from the new boundary, Rokita planned to run for re-election without moving. The move was not unprecedented in Indiana history. Former Rep. Chris Chocola (R) was elected in a similar situation after the 2001 redistricting cycle.[6]
Senate President David Long (R) said that he expected the new districts to stay competitive. In addition, he said the maps were more compact than the maps drawn by Democrats in 2001. Opponents of the maps argued the maps were drawn with political motivations.[7] A map of the congressional plan can be found here.
April 2011: Legislative chambers passed redistricting plan[edit]
On April 20, both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly approved redistricting plans. The plans, authored by the state's Republican majority, included both congressional and state legislative maps. The plans passed the chambers on predominantly party-line votes.[8] Since the plans were independently approved by the House and Senate, each bill then moved to the opposite chamber for concurrence. If either plan received concurrence, it would proceed to Governor Mitch Daniels (R) for approval.[9]
April 2011: Concurrence reached[edit]
The House voted 62-31 on April 28, 2011 to send the Congressional map to Governor Mitch Daniels (R) for final approval.[10]
May 2011: Governor Daniels approved plan[edit]
Governor Mitch Daniels signed Indiana's redistricting plan on Tuesday, May 10 along with 79 other bills passed by the Legislature.[11] Indiana was only the third state to complete its entire redistricting process. Only Iowa and Louisiana completed the process sooner.
Legislative redistricting[edit]
WLFI report on April 13, 2011 about the redistricting maps currently residing in committee. |
April 2011: Maps proposed[edit]
Proposed maps were released April 11, detailing a possible redistricting plan for the Indiana State Legislature.[12] In the Indiana House of Representatives, eight of the new districts would have no incumbent while 10 would be home to two incumbents. Of these 10, three paired Republicans, three paired Democrats, and four paired Republicans and Democrats. Twenty-one of the 30 House districts that lost population were controlled by Democrats. No Senate incumbents were paired together. Speaker of the House Brian Bosma (R) stated that maps were created with an aim to eliminate gerrymandering and create compact districts. Critics, however, charged that maps should strive for compact districts and increased competition.[13][14] State Democrats said the proposal would reduce the number of competitive districts from 24 to 14 and make most districts without an incumbent strongly Republican.[15]
April 2011: Legislative chambers passed and plans modified[edit]
On April 20, both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly approved redistricting plans. The plans, authored by the state's Republican majority, included both congressional and state legislative maps. The plans passed the chambers on predominantly party-line votes.[8] In the House, Republicans altered the original bill, redrawing a district which paired two House Democrats.[16] Since the plans were independently approved by the House and Senate, each bill then moved to the opposite chamber for concurrence. If either plan received concurrence, it would proceed to Governor Mitch Daniels (R) for approval.[9]
April 2011: Concurrence reached[edit]
The Senate concurred with the House plan by a 37-12 vote on April 27, 2011. The Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission said legislators should have allowed the public to give input on plans throughout the summer.[17] Democrats said the new plan would reduce the number of competitive races and dilute minority votes. The plan moved to Governor Mitch Daniels (R) for approval.[18]
May 2011: Governor Daniels signed plan[edit]
Governor Mitch Daniels signed Indiana's redistricting plan on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 along with 79 other bills passed by the Legislature.[11] Indiana was the third state to complete its entire redistricting process. Only Iowa and Louisiana completed the process sooner.
Noteworthy events[edit]
March 2011: Democratic boycott[edit]
The Democratic boycott over public sector unions, which ended March 28, 2011, put pressure on Indiana's redistricting process. The legislature, which adjourned April 29, was required to pass a new two-year budget and redraw congressional districts. Indiana's governor Mitch Daniels (R) would have been able to call a special session to deal with these issues if the delay caused by the boycott prevented their completion during the regular session. Each of the previous two Indiana redistricting efforts resulted in boycotts.[19][20]
While 37 Democratic representatives remained outside of the state during the boycott, Republican leaders started moving on the redistricting process, holding several public hearings throughout the state. Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson (D) said that Republicans were excluding Democrats from the process. Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R) responded that Republicans welcomed as much input as possible in the process.[21]
Legal issues[edit]
February 2011: Annexation lawsuit
In the three years prior to redistricting, the city of Jeffersonville annexed several nearby neighborhoods. A resident of one such neighborhood, Bruce Herdt, sued the city over its drawing of city council districts in the newly added neighborhoods. The suit alleged that the city initially allotted too little representation to the neighborhoods by using 2000 census data. Herdt contended that 2010 census data corroborated his earlier estimates and substantiated his claims.[22][23] Judge William G. Hussman dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the 2000 census data was the best data to use at the time. The city argued that the use of alternative estimates did not conform to state law or precedent. The city planned to redistrict again before municipal elections in 2015. Herdt planned to appeal.[24]
Timeline[edit]
The General Assembly's deadline for having congressional boundaries re-drawn was April 29, 2011. State-level redistricting had to be completed by the end of the 2012 session on March 14, 2012.[25] However, if lawmakers pushed the process too late into the 2012 session, approval would come after the candidate filing deadlines, meaning that candidates would have to file before their new districts were final.[2] The Governor could call the General Assembly into special session if lawmakers failed to complete redistricting before the end of the regular session (in this case, April 29, 2011).[26]
| Indiana 2010 redistricting timeline | |
|---|---|
| Date | Action |
| December 21, 2010 | State informed of number of Congressional Seats on the 2010 Census. |
| March 1, 2011 | Expected date to receive complete Census data from the U.S. Census Bureau. |
| April 1, 2011[27] | Final deadline to receive Census data. |
| April 29, 2011[28]. | Deadline for the Indiana General Assembly to have a congressional redistricting plan in place. Also, this is the sine die date for the General Assembly. |
| May 3, 2011[29]. | Last municipal and city primary elections in pre-2011 drawn boundaries. |
| November 8, 2011[30]. | Last municipal and city general elections in pre-2011 drawn boundaries. |
| March 14, 2012 | Deadline for the Indiana General Assembly to have a legislative redistricting plan in place.[31] |
| May 2012 | First primary elections in post-2011 districts. |
| November 2012 | First general election in post-2011 legislative and congressional boundaries. |
History[edit]
Deviation from Ideal Districts[edit]
| 2000 population deviation[32] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Percentage | ||||||
| Congressional districts | 0.02% | ||||||
| State House districts | 1.92% | ||||||
| State Senate districts | 3.80% | ||||||
| Under federal law, districts could vary from an Ideal District by up to 10%, though the lowest number achievable was preferred. Ideal Districts were computed through simple division of the number of seats for any office into the population at the time of the Census. | |||||||
See also[edit]
- State Legislative and Congressional Redistricting after the 2010 Census
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Indiana Economic Digest, "Indiana House walkout may put legislative redistricting in peril," March 9, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 News and Tribune, "STATEHOUSE WRAP: Decision on budget bill expected Monday," March 13
- ↑ WTHI "Illinois loses seat to census, Indiana constant," December 21, 2010
- ↑ Chesterton Tribune, "State Senate Democrats launch redistricting website for input," March 28, 2011
- ↑ WIBC, "Senate Democrats Offer Redistricting Map," March 30, 2011
- ↑ nwi.com, "Remap leaves U.S. Rep. Rokita outside his district," May 15, 2011
- ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Plan shifts Ind. GOP areas to Donnelly's district," April 11, 2011
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Eagle Country Online, "Democrats Unhappy With Redistricting Maps," April 21, 2011
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 MyDesert.com, "Lawmakers OK redrawn congressional and General Assembly maps," April 20, 2011
- ↑ Greenfield Reporter, "Indiana Legislature OKs plan for more Republican-friendly Indiana congressional districts," April 28, 2011
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Forbes, "Ind. gov signs 80 bills into law, including budget," May 11, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedECP - ↑ News and Tribune, "Proposed redistricting maps would shift district lines around the state," April 11, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Times-Union, "Indiana redistricting plan appears to benefit GOP," April 11, 2011
- ↑ jconline.com, "Indiana Democrats say GOP redistricting plan slanted," April 13, 2011
- ↑ South Bend Tribune, "Indiana House makes some alterations to redistricting maps," April 20, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Fox News Latino, "Indiana Assembly Approves New Electoral Map," April 28, 2011
- ↑ Indianapolis Business Journal, "Indiana Legislature OKs redistricting proposal," April 27, 2011
- ↑ Evansville Courier-Press, "Session clock ticking at Indiana Statehouse," March 5, 2011
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Indiana House Democrats end boycott, on way to Statehouse," March 28, 2011
- ↑ Courier Journal, "Indiana GOP leaders launch redistricting effort," March 17, 2010
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Ind. man: Census data supports redistricting suit," February 24, 2011
- ↑ News and Tribune, "Redistricting Jeffersonville: New numbers at play," February 25, 2011
- ↑ Courier-Journal, "Jeffersonville redistricting lawsuit dismissed," May 6, 2011
- ↑ Indiana General Assembly, FAQ
- ↑ [Confirmed with IN SOS via phone on 1-6-2011]
- ↑ Population Reference Bureau, "2010 Census Deadlines
- ↑ Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, "2010 NCSL Redistricting Law Guide (dead link)
- ↑ [Confirmed with IN SOS via phone on January 5, 2011]
- ↑ [Confirmed with IN SOS via phone on January 5, 2011]
- ↑ Indiana General Assembly, FAQ
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, “Redistricting 2000 Population Deviation Table”," accessed February 1, 2011
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