By Scott Tibbs, October 30, 2009
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita has caused a stir in state politics by proposing that it should be illegal to draw legislative districts for political benefit. This is something I've complained about previously, in a post from June 14, 2006. I also posted a map of Indiana's Congressional Districts, which were shamelessly gerrymandered by the Indiana Legislature in 2001. The Fourth District, which places Bedford in the same district as Purdue University but not the same district as nearby Indiana University, is especially bad.
Gerrymandering is not confined to Indiana's Congressional districts. State legislative districts are also drawn for political advantage. In 2006 and 2008, a significant percentage of the seats in the state legislature were decided with no opposition from one of the two major parties. Below, there is a list of the districts that were not contested by either major party in the Indiana House of Representatives (2006 and 2008) and the Indiana Senate (2006 and 2008). The Libertarian Party ran a candidate in a few districts, but most of the races where one of the two major parties failed to field a candidate had only one name on the ballot.
The problem here is that the districts are drawn for the politicians, not the people in those districts. District lines are carefully drawn by incumbent politicians to protect their own party members. When the voters have no choice in fully 1/3 of state legislative elections, our system of government is broken and badly in need of reform. How can we expect a legislator to be responsive to the concerns of the voters when there is no realistic chance of losing the next election because the results have been rigged by the maps? The results of an election should not be predetermined like a World Wrestling Entertainment championship match, if you smell what the Tibbs is cooking.
It is easy to see why the politicians would vigorously resist Rokita's proposal for reform. After all, they have a lock on their seats and the legislative power, influence, prestige and monetary benefits that come with those seats. Provided they do not irritate their own party to the extent they will face a credible primary challenge (as Republican Jerry Bales did in 1998) they are basically legislators for life. Rokita's proposal is a threat to their power and continued dominance.
It is long past time for that to change. Indiana has an opportunity to lead the nation in reforming the way legislative districts are drawn, putting the interests of the people ahead of the interests of the Democrats and Republicans that have colluded for decades to squash competition. Even though I am a Republican, I am disgusted in my own party's role in taking away choice from the voters. Making legislative districts more competitive will drastically increase the average citizen's influence over public policy and competition will produce better candidates and more responsive elected officials. To steal a phrase from Barack Obama, redistricting reform is change we can believe in.
Indiana House seats without major party opposition, 2006
- District 2
- District 7
- District 8
- District 9
- District 11
- District 13
- District 16
- District 18
- District 24
- District 25
- District 28
- District 32
- District 37
- District 38
- District 40
- District 47
- District 50
- District 53
- District 60
- District 65
- District 66
- District 67
- District 73
- District 75
- District 76
- District 78
- District 81
- District 82
- District 83
- District 85
- District 93
- District 94
- District 96
- District 98
- District 99
Indiana House seats without major party opposition, 2008
- District 02
- District 3
- District 9
- District 18
- District 21
- District 23
- District 25
- District 27
- District 32
- District 42
- District 47
- District 49
- District 54
- District 55
- District 56
- District 57
- District 58
- District 60
- District 61
- District 65
- District 71
- District 76
- District 77
- District 79
- District 80
- District 81
- District 82
- District 85
- District 90
- District 98
- District 99
- District 100
Indiana Senate seats without major party opposition, 2006
- District 14
- District 17
- District 19
- District 23
- District 29
- District 38
- District 48
Indiana Senate seats without major party opposition, 2008
- District 3
- District 7
- District 10
- District 16
- District 20
- District 24
- District 33
- District 50
