ANDERSON — Legislation authored by state Sen. Mike Gaskill could change how county commissioners are elected in the future.
Gaskill, R-Pendleton, is proposing that starting in 2022 county commissioners in 89 of Indiana’s 92 counties be elected from districts based on population.
Senate Bill 179 has been assigned to the Elections Committee of the Indiana Senate. The legislation requires the district to be contiguous, not cross precinct boundary lines, not divide a township unless necessary, and be compact, subject to natural boundary lines.
The legislation comes approximately one year after the Madison County Board of Commissioners in 2019 voted to change the boundaries for the three commissioner districts to more closely align with the county’s population.
A challenge to the new districts was rejected in 2020 by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which allowed the population-based districts to be utilized for last year’s election.
The proposed legislation would not affect Marion, Lake and St. Joseph counties.
Marion County doesn’t elect county commissioners, and Lake and St. Joseph commissioner districts are already based on population.
“The legislation would require the reorganization of the commissioner districts,” Gaskill said Friday. “They would have to be based on population.”
Recent federal court rulings have required districts to be based on population, he said.
“There is a risk if you don’t draw the boundaries based on population,” Gaskill said.
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