Dozens of people walked through an Evansville neighborhood Monday evening to call for redistricting reform. WNIN’s John Gibson went along…
The 2.1 mile “Gerry Meander” followed a portion of the line between state representative districts 77 and 78.
On a map, it looks like a thumb – or peninsula -- sticking into another district.
Organizer Kathy Solecki told WNIN it’s time for gerrymeandering to stop.
(The districts should not be drawn to enhance a political party or candidate. They should be drawn to fairly represent the composition of the voters.)
District lines are decided by the party in power – currently the Republicans -- and inevitably they draw the lines to favor their party in elections.
Ann Ennis says it’s causing problems within her own party.
(As a moderate Republican, I feel very strongly that the Republican majority is a good thing but there’s a minority that holds the party captive.)
Democratic State Representative Ryan Hatfield says gerrymandering creates a lack of representation.
(Often times in Indiana, we have statewide elections that go 54-46 percent, but our House is 70-30 and our Senate is 41-9.)
Ryan and other participants called for the creation of a bipartisan commission to draw district lines. They hope to get it done before the 2020 census.
