The latest Republican push to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps mid-cycle is not about representation or fairness. It is about power. Voters should not accept it.
This week, dozens of GOP lawmakers met with Trump administration officials to discuss redistricting ahead of 2026. Leaders claim the effort is about protecting the Trump agenda. The greater cost is public trust in democracy.
Redistricting without a new census, a court order, or a legitimate reason undermines voters. It suggests elections do not matter and that district lines will shift whenever those in power feel threatened.
ACCORDING TO the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice, gerrymandering breaks the principle of “one person, one vote” through “packing” and “cracking.” Packing concentrates opposition voters into a few districts, while cracking dilutes them across many, ensuring their votes have minimal impact outside isolated areas. These tactics allow a party to secure a legislative majority even while receiving fewer votes overall.
Some lawmakers now argue the plan is necessary to avoid “Democratic attacks” on President Trump’s second-term agenda. Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), once opposed to mid-cycle changes, has shifted after meeting with Vice President JD Vance. However, this debate is not about Trump or Biden. It is about whether representative government still matters.
Indiana already has some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. About 40% of Hoosiers vote Democratic, yet Republicans hold seven of nine congressional seats. That is not representative government. It is rigged advantage.
THERE IS ALSO a literal cost. A special legislative session would be billed directly to Indiana taxpayers. Each representative receives $213 per day in per diem pay. With 150 representatives, that amounts to more than $31,000 every single day the legislature meets. Multiply that by several days of hearings, debates, and travel expenses, and the price tag climbs quickly into the tens of thousands. Hoosiers would be paying the price — not to improve schools, repair roads, or strengthen public safety, but to bankroll a partisan power grab meant to lock one party in control.
What happens in Indiana will matter elsewhere. If this effort succeeds, other states may follow. Democracy rarely disappears all at once. It weakens gradually, when small abuses go unchallenged and partisan gain outweighs civic duty.
This is more than a fight over political maps. It is about whether voters choose their representatives, or whether politicians choose their voters. And now, it is also about whether taxpayers are willing to pay the bill for a legislature that seems more interested in preserving power than serving the public good.
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