On the day Indiana Republicans are set to approve redistricting maps based on the 2020 census, one of those changes will have a significant impact on a traditional Democratic stronghold in Evansville.
With Republican supermajorities in both the Indiana House and Senate, there’s not a lot the Democrats can do to change the way the lines are being redrawn in the state.
One example are the changes in Indiana Senate Districts 49 and 50, that now split Pigeon Township in two just south of Evansville’s downtown area. District 77 Democratic Representative Ryan Hatfield says the change to move more of the largely minority populated area into District 49 is a deliberate attempt to keep both Senate Districts in Republican hands. He says there’s a chance it will end up in court.
“We’ll certainly be looking at the legality of these maps. I expect that they’ll be challenged.”
During public hearings on the redistricting, Senate District 49 was used by the Posey County Democratic Party Chairman as an example of how Republicans split up the city of Evansville to benefit Republican officeholders at the expense of representation for rural and minority populations.