It’s not yet known how much input Indiana citizens will have in the debate over adopting new congressional district boundaries that’s set to begin next week in the Republican-controlled House.
But it won’t be anywhere near the amount of Hoosier participation that preceded House and Senate approval of Indiana’s current congressional district maps four years ago.
In 2021, key state lawmakers hosted nine public hearings across Indiana, including a session at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso, during the month prior to the General Assembly convening for what’s usually a once-a-decade task of adjusting the state’s congressional district boundaries to account for population shifts identified by the U.S. Census.
Three additional public hearings were held at the Statehouse after the proposed new maps were unveiled for Hoosiers to criticize, applaud or recommend changes to the districts.
State Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, who led the House redistricting process that year, said public participation made a big difference in how the lines were drawn, especially when it came to preserving “communities of interest” across the state.
“We addressed specific concerns that were made during the public hearings. One was that we preserve the Lake Michigan shoreline as a community of interest — and that shoreline is complete within Congressional District 1,” Steuerwald said during House debate on the maps.
That Northwest Indiana district, which contains all of Lake, Porter and northwest LaPorte counties, is almost certain to be blown up as part of this year’s redistricting that explicitly aims to give Republican candidates an electoral advantage in all nine congressional districts.
Preliminary, unofficial maps posted online suggest lawmakers may move most of Porter County and all of LaPorte County into the 2nd District to the east, and then run the 1st District from urban, industrial Lake County into rural areas far to its south and east, perhaps even beyond Kokomo, in the hope of tipping it “red.”
“9-0 or bust,” proclaimed state Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis, after GOP House and Senate leaders agreed Tuesday to convene in December for redistricting, instead of abiding by their decision last week to skip it and begin the 2026 legislative session Jan. 5.
House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, anticipates advancing new congressional maps to the Republican-controlled Senate by the end of next week — leaving little time for the public, and even many legislators, to evaluate the districts for anything other than partisanship.
State Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, said that shows Statehouse Republicans are more focused on pleasing Republican President Donald Trump — whose redistricting push is aimed at preserving a Republican U.S. House majority and preventing Democratic-led oversight of his administration — than listening to their own constituents.
“Hoosiers have made their voices loud and clear over the past few months that they do not want or need new congressional maps. New congressional maps don’t help families keep more of their hard-earned money. New congressional maps don’t bring down the cost of utilities, groceries, child care, health care or housing,” Hamilton said.
“Republicans have had 20 years to create an Indiana where Hoosiers can thrive. And yet, working families can barely survive. Let’s get serious about meeting the needs of our voters — not silencing them.”
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