At the risk of showing my age once again, I was a student in a political science class in the mid 1970s.  The professor gave us a class project.  We were divided into groups, given census data and were tasked with drawing congressional boundaries.

The first thing that happened was one or two members of each group ended up doing most of the work, mainly because it was too difficult and cumbersome for a group of people to redistrict.  It is a numbers-oriented and detailed task.

When the class reassembled, the professor said he wanted to show us how redistricting is generally done…a small group of people do the number crunching.  Certain leaders instruct those drawing the maps what they want, but the final maps are drawn based on the work of a few people.  The availability of computerized data has created a science out of drawing these districts in recent years.

The Indiana General Assembly has released the proposed maps for the U.S. House of Representatives and Indiana legislative House members using 2020 census numbers.  House Speaker Todd Huston has represented most of Fishers the past ten years.  His district has been redone, District 37, where he plans to run for re-election.  His new district takes in part of east Fishers but also moves up to the northern and eastern parts of Hamilton County.

To be honest, the maps are a little confusing but Fishers will be represented by more than one member of the Indiana House in the 2022 legislative elections.  The map is not final, subject to a vote by lawmakers, but it is generally assumed the Indiana House maps will be approved as released.

As of this writing, state lawmakers had not released districts for the Indiana Senate.

It is a little difficult to sift out all the districts in detail based on the maps released so far.  But we do know U.S. Congresswoman Victoria Spartz will be running in a district without part of Marion County, and will run for re-election as a candidate to represent Fishers in 2022.

You may have seen a term lately in the news – “gerrymandering.”  That is a process imagined by a man named Elbridge Gerry.  As governor of Massachusetts in 1812, Mr. Gerry signed a bill that created a district many described as in the shape of a mythical salamander.  In other words, he invented the American version of drawing districts into whatever shape provides political advantage to the party in power.

Both Republicans and Democrats have been skillful in drawing gerrymandered districts when in power.  But there is a very big downside to gerrymandering districts – it creates voter apathy.  After all, why vote in a general election when one candidate has such a huge advantage over an opponent of the opposite party?

Indiana has very low voter turnout numbers compared to what is seen in most other sates.  A number of political scientists point to Indiana’s gerrymandered districts is a major reason for this.

Indiana State Senator Fady Qaddoura, a member of the State Senate Elections Committee, and representing a part of Fishers, argues in an opinion piece published in the Hamilton County Reporter, that Indiana suffers economically when districts are gerrymandered.  

“Indiana has plenty of advantages when attracting new businesses,” writes Senator Qaddoura. “However, recent studies show that Indiana underinvests in workforce development, K-12 education, healthcare and the environment. If we are to address these issues successfully, we need fair districts that elect more moderate legislators focused on problem solving and working together to address chronic challenges facing Indiana.”

The state senator urges the business community to get behind fair district lines as a way to develop Indiana by electing representatives from both parties that are more moderate.  He argues, as many political scientists do, that gerrymandered districts often produce more radical nominees for the general election, that may not be in tune with many voters in the district turned off by the gerrymandered districts.

I do not know whether that is true, but I do know our districts are contributing to a lack of interest in general election contests.  That is not good for our body politic.

I do not pretend to have all the answers, but I know we have a problem in Indiana.  We will wait and see what, if anything, happens next.