Testimony Against Mid-Cycle Redistricting
On Dec 2nd, I share this testimony with the House Committee considering HB1032
Testimony Against Mid-Cycle Redistricting in Indiana
My name is Karen Whitney, and I am a concerned Hoosier, I am a badly retired college president. I live in Hendricks County and next year I will be running as a proud Indiana democrat to become the next State House Rep for District 28.
Today I do not stand here as a candidate. Today I stand before you today as a concerned citizen and tax payer to oppose the proposed mid-cycle redistricting. I believe our democracy is a precious thing, and it rests on a foundation of fairness. This insanely abrupt attempt to redraw the maps with no citizen input before the decade is out, shatters that foundation.
Lack of Citizen Input
A fair redistricting process requires robust citizen input. That is not happening. Today’s hearing has just scratched the surface for understanding the impact this bill will have on state offices responsible for administering this bill and the impact on every citizen. The maps drawn after the decennial census, flawed as they may have been, at least followed a public process. This mid-cycle effort has been rushed, opaque, and driven by political calculation, not community needs. Where were the public hearings in every district? Where was the transparent, timely, accessible platform for Hoosiers to submit their own maps and voice their concerns about their communities of interest? You cannot redraw the lines that define our representation without listening to the people you claim to represent. I ask this committee to hold public hearings in Hendricks county and Boone county and Montgomery county, before taking a vote.
Lack of Integrity and a waste of taxpayer dollars.
Mid-cycle redistricting on this crazy time schedule will be an administrative hot mess inherently lacking integrity. Redistricting is meant to happen once per decade, after the census, to ensure "one person, one vote." To reopen the maps now, purely for partisan advantage, is an abuse of power. It sends a message that in Indiana, politicians pick their voters, instead of the other way around. The Republican Governor and Republican Reps and Senators are wasting tax payer dollars by being here today. This is a waste on so many levels.
I do not care about maps in other states. They do them and we do us. Hoosiers don’t cheat.
I ask that you reject this effort. Stand for transparency, stand for Hoosier integrity, and stand for the principle that our elections should be determined by the will of the voters, not by the surgical strokes of a Washington DC political mapmaker.
Listen to voters. Hold public hearings first. This process and this plan gets an F minus. Vote to Move to table this bill until you hear from voters directly.
Thank you.
