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A half-dozen Indiana House Democrats met with their Texas colleagues Wednesday in Chicago to oppose unprecedented mid-cycle redistricting efforts, a process that typically occurs once in a decade. Earlier that same day, national nonpartisan election advocates softened their uniform opposition to gerrymandering, saying they recognized the “wide-reaching crisis in our democracy.”
Rep. Ed DeLaney, of Indianapolis, likened the effort to “congressional-level shoplifting.”
The nation’s top elected leader, President Donald Trump, has pressured GOP-led states to redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts in the hopes of keeping the slim Republican majority, starting with Texas. Republicans in the Lone Star State unveiled maps that could net their party an additional five seats but many House Democrats fled to Illinois, preventing the maps from advancing.
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Indiana last week to make a personal redistricting pitch to Gov. Mike Braun and Republican legislative leaders, who haven’t publicly committed to moving forward.
“Never in my life, did I think that the vice president of the United States would come to my state and ask our legislature to shoplift congressional districts; to steal them off of the shelf, run outside and wave them in front of the whole country,” said DeLaney. “We cannot have this kind of conduct.”
He noted that former House Speaker Brian Bosma, a Republican, has shared his opposition to redistricting, telling the Indiana Capital Chronicle earlier this week it was in “bad form.” DeLaney openly wondered if Indiana Republicans would simply revisit redistricting every time they lost a seat in Congress.
Texas Rep. Gene Wu, the minority leader, accused Republicans of trying “to cheat, to rig the system so they can stay in power” and using the “D.C. swamp” to dictate state-level elections.
“… we have heard from California; we have heard from New York; we have heard from Illinois that people are ready to stand up,” said Wu. “People are ready to fight back.”
Republicans hold seven of Indiana’s nine congressional seats while Democrats control districts in Indianapolis and northwestern Indiana.
Rep. Earl Harris, Jr.’s East Chicago seat sits within that latter congressional district and he said, “My job is to help the people I represent, not the guy in Washington D.C.”
“My district has a big population of Blacks and Latinos. Why are we disenfranchising the voters of Black and brown people who choose who we want to represent us?” Harris asked. “… Texas is here not only fighting for Texas. They’re fighting for Indiana; they’re fighting for Illinois. They’re fighting for states all over this country.
“It is important that we representatives from the State of Indiana show up and show them that we have their back.”
Standards for mid-cycle redistricting
Earlier that afternoon, national advocates with Common Cause detailed their own set of standards for redistricting while warning that the country was sliding into authoritarianism. Though previously against gerrymandering in all forms — including those potentially occurring in blue states to counter the actions of Texas — the organization softened its stance.
The political situation we find ourselves in is unlike anything we have seen before in modern history. What President Trump and his supporters have done in Texas is straight out of an authoritarian playbook,” said Virginia Solomón, the president and CEO of Common Cause.
The nonpartisan organization has long been a key player on the national scene when it comes to redistricting, filing lawsuits in various states to challenge allegedly unfair maps filed by both Republicans and Democrats. One such challenge made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that it had no role in policing partisan gerrymandering.
Common Cause has laid out six ways to evaluate the fairness of mid-cycle redistricting:
- Whether the process is proportional, meaning the process “should be a targeted response proportional to the threat posed … in other states.”
- Whether the process included “meaningful” public participation.
- Whether the maps were drawn in a way that is racially equitable and don’t “dilute the political voice” of communities of color.
- Whether leaders “publicly endorse the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.” The federal bills would ban mid-decade redistricting and partisan gerrymandering.
- Whether leaders endorse independent redistricting, or citizen-led, independent redistricting commissions as a long-term solution.
- Whether the maps are time-limited, meaning that “Any new redistricting maps must expire following the 2030 Census.”
The organization has vowed to oppose maps that don’t meet the criteria.
“…We’re not acquiescing. I think we’re just being realists in this moment. We can have a purist mentality and say all gerrymandering is bad — which is where we actually stand — but we also recognize the political moment that we are in,” said Solomón. “… Common Cause has not shifted, the landscape has. And we will continue to hold true to our values in this political upheaval, but we refuse to carry the water for any political party.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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