Thousands of signatures collected for Indiana anti-redistricting petition

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 9,000 signatures were brought from Indiana voters associated with several groups, calling on Indiana state lawmakers to oppose mid-decade redistricting efforts.




According to a news release from Indiana Conservation Voters, an environmental conservation organization based out of Indianapolis, officials said the signatures represented voters from all of Indiana's 92 counties as well as residents from every House and Senate district in the state.




Redistricting in the state of Indiana has been a hot topic over the last month or so. Federal officials have expressed interest in developing a map that aims at ousting the state's two Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., District 1, and U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., District 7.




Federal officials have stated they believe that redrawing Indiana's districts, which could give the two Democratic seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to Republicans, would help give Republicans an easier path to a majority. Several maps have been circulating as possible ideas for the redistricting to occur.

Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Indiana in early August to discuss redistricting efforts with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and other Indiana Republican leadership in a closed-door meeting. Later that month, a group of state GOP lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C. to talk about several topics, including redistricting, with Vance and other federal officials.




The petitions are urging Indiana lawmakers to oppose mid-decade redistricting efforts, the release said.




"Indiana isn't a playground for electoral shenanigans, and we won't let Washington outsiders tell us how to run our state," Megan Robertson, the executive director of Indiana Conservation Voters, said in the release. "Hoosiers play fair. We believe in honest elections, fair maps and a democracy that works for all of us. These signatures represent that commitment."




The release cited polling from Change Research that 52% of voters oppose the redistricting efforts, with voters stressing the importance of lawmakers focusing on cost-of-living efforts, along with energy prices and property taxes.








"This is nothing more than a partisan power grab initiated by out-of-state interests who don't want Hoosier voters fairly represented," Julia Vaughn, the executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said in the release. "It's a distraction from the real issues facing Hoosiers." 




The groups that joined together in collecting signatures for the petition include:

• Indiana Conservation Voters





• Women4Change Indiana





• Common Cause Indiana





• Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis





• League of Women Voters of Indiana





• Count Us IN





• Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation





• Reverse Citizens United of Monroe County





• Indiana Alliance for Retired Americans





• Hoosier Asian American Power

Several Indiana Republicans have expressed support for the redistricting efforts, while others said they are against the efforts. Indiana Democrats have been vocal regarding their opposition to the efforts as a whole.








According to previous reports, Braun would have to call a special session of the Indiana General Assembly to move forward with redistricting efforts. As of this story's publication, a special session surrounding redistricting has not been called.





via: https://fox59.com/indianapolitics/thousands-of-signatures-collected-for-indiana-anti-redistricting-petition/