INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — (WDRB) Republican leaders in the Indiana House are preparing to move forward with a proposed congressional redistricting bill next week — even as some within their own party express frustration with the process and timing.
Republicans hold 70 of the 100 seats in the Indiana House of Representatives, and leadership needs just 51 votes to send the measure to the Senate. But that could prove complicated. Senate Republicans have said they don’t yet have the votes to approve the maps, and at least one House Republican said he won’t support them.
State Rep. Ed Clere, a Republican from New Albany, said he plans to vote against any map that comes out of the House.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Clere said. “There are lots of reasons we shouldn’t be doing it. And, no matter what the map looks like, I’m going to vote against it.”
Clere said the redistricting effort is taking attention away from issues that matter most to Hoosiers.
“Health care is something that needs our attention — housing affordability, utility costs,” he said. “Redistricting is a distraction. It’s sucking up all the oxygen and crowding out other issues that really matter.”
When congressional maps were redrawn in 2021, lawmakers held at least nine public meetings across the state. This time, Clere said, there’s been no such opportunity for public input.
“I’m very disappointed in the lack of public process and transparency,” he said. “That’s going to be a big focus next week. The bill is likely to be in committee on Tuesday, and I expect there will be hundreds, if not more, people there to testify.”
The bill is expected to be assigned to committee on Monday, with debate and testimony beginning Tuesday. A vote could come as early as Thursday or Friday.
Clere called the redistricting push “politically motivated.”
“It was wrong in August, and it’s still wrong in November,” he said. “It’s outside of the normal process without any reason other than the raw politics driving it.”
Just two weeks ago, Senate leadership announced during Organization Day that they would not return for a special session this year.
But after what appears to be a change of heart, the Senate is now scheduled to return Dec. 8.
House Speaker Todd Huston has told members to keep the first two weeks of December open.
When asked by WDRB's Richard Essex where he thought the redistricting vote might go, Hudson said, "I’m not a betting man. My crystal ball is broken. This has been a long, ongoing conversation — and I’m sure there are more conversations to be had.”
Those conversations — among 150 Indiana lawmakers — will begin in earnest Monday.
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