The fight to remove partisanship from the process of drawing Indiana's legislative boundaries will continue, even though the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that it no longer will intervene to remedy excessively one-sided maps.
In a 5-4 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts, a former Long Beach resident, the nation's high court said it's not the role of the federal judiciary to police state legislatures that draw district lines favoring one political party over the other, a process known as gerrymandering.
"We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts," Roberts said.
"Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions."
Julia Vaughn, director of Common Cause Indiana and one of the state's most prominent redistricting reform advocates, said she was disappointed the Supreme Court declined to "take a stand against partisan gerrymandering."
"The Supreme Court may be OK with incumbent politicians manipulating the districts to their advantage, but Hoosiers have had enough and want a new system in place by 2021," Vaughn said.
It's too late to change the Indiana Constitution prior to the next redistricting to entirely take control of the line drawing process from the elected officials who have the most to gain (or lose) depending on how the boundaries are set.
Nevertheless, Vaughn said she's determined "to keep fighting to create a fairer, more transparent and less partisan redistricting process."
House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said he is on board.
GiaQuinta plans to file legislation during the 2020 General Assembly requiring an independent redistricting panel draw new maps for the Legislature to approve, with only minimal changes permitted.
"The people of Indiana have made it clear that they want legislative and congressional districts drawn by a nonpartisan commission," GiaQuinta said. "The responsibility now lies with the Indiana House and Senate Republicans to act on their wishes."
Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, also believes an independent redistricting process is needed more than ever following the Supreme Court ruling to ensure the integrity of Indiana elections.
"We will no longer be able to fall back on the ability of the federal government to prevent politicians from choosing their voters instead of the other way around," Lanane said.
"Once again, I intend to offer a bill to create an independent redistricting commission to put the power of government back where it belongs, in the hands of Hoosiers."
Prior efforts to remove partisanship from redistricting in Indiana repeatedly have stalled in the Republican-controlled General Assembly amid questions about whether a nonpartisan process even is possible, and what standards should be used to craft fair legislative districts.
The Indiana Constitution only requires all parts of a district be contiguous and nearly equal in population to other districts of its type when district lines are redrawn every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, to adjust legislative representation for population shifts.
Hoosier lawmakers have looked at also requiring districts be compact, not cross precinct boundaries, avoid splitting up municipalities or other communities of interest, and ignore the location of the current officeholder's residence.
However, proposals to write those standards into state law, or establish an independent redistricting commission, never have won approval by both chambers of the General Assembly. Key lawmakers have declined to cede a power accorded to the Legislature to a potentially unelected, unrepresentative body.
Many Statehouse Republicans seem to agree with former state Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, who said during a 2016 legislative study committee on redistricting that attempts to reform the process are based on the mistaken belief that "voters are somehow mindless robots with unshakable party affiliation."
He said a good candidate can make any district competitive.
"It's far too simplistic to view Hoosiers as a monolithic voting block," he said. "The exact same voters that elected (Republican) Todd Young (to the U.S. Senate) also elected (Democrat) Joe Donnelly."
A 2017 Associated Press analysis found Indiana's legislative districts are gerrymandered to advantage Republicans, with the party controlling one U.S. House seat and several Indiana House and Senate seats more than would be expected from the statewide vote share won by GOP candidates.
Since drawing the current maps in 2011, Republicans have grown their Indiana House majority to 67 out of 100 seats, up from 60; and their Senate majority to 40 of 50 members, up from 37.
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