Democrats worry redistricting may lead to misrepresentation in the state

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The fight over redistricting continues in a special session in Indianapolis. Republican lawmakers say the lines need to be redrawn to protect conservative values, but democrat representatives continue to push back.

Maureen Bauer, District Six State Representative says in 2021 there was not fair representation but this year it is even worse.

Bauer explains, "I thought there should have been legal challenges in 2021. We just don't see the representation in our Congress, in the state of Indiana that we see when we are looking at statewide election results, even a 40% democratic population isn't represented in our members of Congress."

The new congressional maps would assign nine republicans to zero democrats in the house. Normally redistricting happens every ten years but with midterm elections approaching, President Trump, Vice President J.D Vance and Governor Mike Braun are pushing for redistricting now, something that has never happened mid-decade.

Maureen Bauer says if Marion County is broken up into three districts they would be minimizing the population's voice in that district, which could lead to grouped lawsuits according to Bauer.

"It could be a multi organization lawsuit. So, there are many opportunities. And also we can look at what's happening in other states after they've redrawn what those legal pathways have looked like, but it will come down to the erasure of a voice of a population of people, and likely a civil rights challenge."

Normally the legislative session starts in January, but Governor Braun called for a special session on Nov. 3. Now lawmakers plan to shift the timeline for the session to between the first and second week of December.