Common Cause Indiana is recruiting residents to support a state plan that would remove politicians from the process of redrawing political districts after every U.S. Census, policy director Julia Vaughn said. She found nearly 50 willing partners at the Tippecanoe County Public Library who on Sunday viewed “Pay 2 Play,” a documentary that aims to change campaign laws which filmmaker John Ennis sees as a system that allows donors to influence policymakers. One way to level the field is to create an independent redistricting commission that includes a cross-section of citizens, Vaughn said.
State Senate President Pro-Tem David Long has said he will introduce legislation creating a committee to study other states that use redistricting commissions. That committee would then recommend reforms that could be in place before the next redistricting in 2021.
“This is the time and place for redistricting reform,” Vaughn said. “We need you talking to your legislators and emphasizing the need for an independent commission that is free of influence.”
Legislators tend to create district maps that make it easy for them to get re-elected and make it difficult for challengers running against them, she said.
Full Article: Common Cause: let citizens draw political maps.