Every 10 years, the Indiana government redraws its congressional maps, aligning with the population census. The last time Indiana did this was in October of 2021. Now, some Indiana legislators want to do it again mid-decade, and gerrymandering is behind it.
Gerrymandering is the intentional change or manipulation of an electoral map in favor of a particular political party, and right now, Indiana Republicans are desperately trying to gerrymander Indiana’s congressional seats. Pressure from President Donald Trump has appeared to scare Gov. Mike Braun, who has suggested calling for a special session to redistrict Indiana maps.
This move would be devastating to democracy, allowing Indiana to be co-opted by Trump’s agenda. In the Indiana government, it has raised much concern on both sides of the political spectrum. State senator Fady Qaddoura is one of those concerned legislators.
“To me, there’s one word that describes that process. It’s cheating. So basically, it is the idea of if you can’t win based on the merits of your ideas and policies and laws, if you’re not very looked upon favorably by citizens across our nation,” Qaddoura said, “the solution, then, is to steal and cheat in a mid-decade redistricting process that normally happens once every 10 years.”
Donald Trump seems terrified to let Republican hold of Congress slip and appears willing to undermine a foundational aspect of democracy. Instead of campaigning or appealing to Indiana citizens, he has decided to make his own Republican majority. By encouraging gerrymandering in Indiana, he is encouraging the silencing of Hoosiers.
“It is elected officials in the Indiana General Assembly drawing the maps to pick up the voters, and that’s not democracy, and if you do that, then the impact to everyday Hoosiers is that you don’t have your voices represented,” Qaddoura said. “Your vote is not going to count because now they determined or predetermined the outcomes of elections.”
If Gov. Braun allows Trump to influence voter outcomes, then Trump’s personal wishes would be put in place by a Congress too afraid to say no. This could have devastating effects on Indiana communities, allowing legislators who were elected under unfairly drawn maps to cut Indiana resources.
“It [money] is shifting from supporting the most vulnerable in Indiana to subsidize the needs of the most wealthy in Indiana,” Qaddoura said. “So if Hoosiers support the gerrymandering process to get rid of two Democrats, and that happens also in Texas and Florida and other places, then you will end up with a Republican Congress that favors wealthy people over hard working and poor people in our nation, and they will be cutting programs and services such as Medicaid and childcare and SNAP further than what they’ve done.”
It’s not just politicians who are concerned about the devastating effects of votes being unfairly influenced. Everyday students and citizens, like junior Jacob South-Beasley, are worried about their political future.
“As a student who will be able to vote in the next presidential election, I’m concerned examples of improper redistricting like this may keep other future voters my age from voting,” South-Beasley said. “Because they may believe their vote doesn’t matter or that the result for their district is predetermined.”
It is embarrassing to Indiana that students fear for the future of their state because of the combined efforts of Gov. Braun and President Trump. The effects of voting would be generational, and many students fear its impact on education.
“The same party who has removed essential programs from public universities and shown a worrying lack of care for non-profit education could possibly tank our education system further,” South-Beasley said.
If Gov. Braun cares about Hoosiers, he will not let President Trump pressure him into calling a special session and into further gerrymandering Indiana. The idea that a vital aspect of the U.S democracy should be influenced by the will of one president opposes everything from which this country has been built. A gerrymandered Indiana wouldn’t just have devastating impacts on Hoosiers, but it would have devastating effects on the future of this country.
