Hoosier redistricting panel at odds on whether there is even a problem

“This system has been manipulated in turn for the political benefit of both the Democratic and Republican parties – whichever attained majority rule each decennial election year,” said Tom Sugar, a Democratic member of a special committee on redistricting. “It is a corruption as old as America itself, but it now must end here. Gerrymandering must be made illegal in Indiana.”

But Rep. Kathy Richardson (Noblesville) and Sen. Brandt Hershman (Buck Creek), both Republicans, said the current set of district maps are compact and keep communities of interest together. They were both in leadership when the GOP drew them in 2011.

“My fear and my interest in the committee dialogue is we are making some assumptions bolstered with some political rhetoric,” Hershman said. “I want to make sure we have the facts.”

He noted that in the past, the majority party in the Indiana House has switched no matter who has drawn the maps. And he tweeted a Politico article titled “Gerrymandering Isn’t Evil.”

Indiana lawmakers redraw 100 House, 50 Senate and all congressional districts in the state every 10 years when the census updates population numbers. Technology allows those in charge to examine the voting patterns of Hoosiers and craft the districts in ways to make them easy for one party or another to win.