It's time to clean up the politics of redistricting - The Indiana Senate proposal has flaws, but it's a sincere effort
The News-Sentinel
February 1, 2010
In 2006, the Indiana House passed a flawed but sincere effort to take partisan politics out of redistricting and end the gerrymandering designed to insulate incumbents from Hoosiers who want to vote for all those pesky challengers. The Indianapolis Star urged the Indiana Senate to heed the House's "clear challenge" to "make a choice between voters' interests and those of politicians."
Today, the roles have been reversed. It is the Republican-controlled Senate that has overwhelmingly (47-1) passed flawed but sincere redistricting legislation, and it is the Democrat-controlled House that should accept the challenge to do the right thing.
The Indiana Constitution merely empowers the legislature to redraw the legislative maps after the census every 10 years, but doesn't really offer guidance on how to do it. So whichever party has been in power has drawn some exotic-looking districts (including the one that looked like a salamander that was protested by Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry) designed to minimize the effect of opposition voters. Nobody likes to give up power, so efforts to fix the process over the years have been half-hearted and mostly cynical.
But times change, and the current public mood demands change. So there seems to be a real change: There will be some reform in time for next year's redistricting .
The Senate bill would require lawmakers to consider, when drawing future districts, preservation of traditional neighborhoods; preservation of local communities of interest; protection of minority voting rights; simply-shaped, compact districts; and respect for county and precinct lines.
The senators also voted (this one 45-3) for legislation that would create a bipartisan study committee. Its task would be to monitor next year's redistricting , study the best redistricting practices of all the other states and come up with proposed guidelines for Indiana, possibly including establishment of a bipartisan (or even nonpartisan) commission that would handle future redistricting .
The flaws in the proposal are obvious. The "requirements" listed can be ignored in specific cases if there are compelling reasons. Some people think there should be a commission drawing the lines for the 2011 redistricting . Unless all these changes are put into the state constitution, they can easily be undone by future legislatures.
But it is a beginning and an effort worthy of endorsement by the Indiana House. It would be unrealistic to ask politicians to completely remove politics from the political process. But we can ask them to tame things down a bit.
Memo: Editorial
Edition: FINAL
Section: FIRST SECTION
Page: 10A
Record Number: 1002014658607
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