Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee:

Thank you for your service to the State of Indiana.

As you consider your responsibilities for drawing new state legislative and Congressional districts, I urge you to recall your pledge to uphold Indiana’s Constitution.

Article II, Section 1 states: “Elections shall be free and equal.” Long before federal civil rights requirements were enacted by Congress, Hoosiers set a high standard for participatory, inclusive Indiana elections.

Producing districts that weigh every vote equally is a commitment to working for the common good. It would encourage healthy, civil conversation and debate to reach the best decisions for all Hoosiers.

To assure a prosperous future and strengthen Indiana’s representative democracy, we must work together-- across demographic differences of age, race, or ethnicity, and whether we live in rural, urban, or suburban spaces. I have seen this work.

Women4Change, which I serve as a volunteer, is committed to help in this effort, knowing that women constitute a majority of our population, and what’s good for women is good for families and all Hoosiers. During the Reagan Administration, at the request of Senator Lugar, I had the privilege of heading the federal HUD office for Indiana. It was rewarding to work with state, county, and local officials of both political parties to support the common needs for affordable housing and community development in both rural and urban settings. This is good for Indiana.

Later, I had the opportunity to represent a major Hoosier employer that came under two hostile takeover attacks. With strong bipartisan support, the General Assembly passed key revisions to Indiana’s corporate law, allowing directors to consider not only the interests of shareholders, but also the interests of employees, suppliers, customers, and communities where corporate facilities are located. This is good for Indiana.

The last 15 years of my professional career were spent in increasing access to higher education at USA GROUP and Lumina Foundation for Education. Education is fundamental to prepare Hoosier students for good jobs in our economy and to participate as informed citizens in our democracy. Thomas Jefferson believed that “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” This General Assembly appropriates a huge portion of state revenues to education, from K-12 through higher education.

So far, this is good for Indiana. But here’s where I get confused.

Indiana’s current legislative districts have been cracked and packed in such biased ways over the past several decades that fully one-third of House seats are not competitive and, therefore, are uncontested. The Indiana Senate is similar. It’s no surprise, then, that Hoosiers have among the lowest rates of voter participation in the US. Why bother? Thus, Indiana fails to take full advantage of the education taxpayers have funded. That’s NOT good for Indiana.

My religious tradition asks its followers to treat others, including strangers, the way we want to be treated. This respect for others could be exhibited by sharing openly with the public relevant information such as technical data files underlying proposed districts. Unfortunately, legislative conduct to date does not seem to reflect respect for voters or their education. So much for the value of STEM and STEAM education we are urged to support.

Furthermore, all hearings are being held during customary work hours—especially disrespecting our essential workers. These last two hearings are scheduled during the highest holy days of Jewish citizens, and very few days are allowed for the public to study proposed maps. This is NOT good for Indiana.

Respect for Hoosier voters should be apparent in legislative districts that give each vote equal weight. As one key example, reflecting the statewide vote for president and governor in the last two general elections would yield approximately 57 seats for one party and 43 for the other party in this House. That ratio would not only give equal weight to each vote across the state, it would encourage the House to model civil civic debate to reach the best decisions for the common good—rather than the polarization and disrespect among House Members that the public observed in the 2021 session.

If the maps passed by this chamber fail to reflect this statewide vote, voters will have reason to conclude, once more, that elected officials have chosen their voters rather than respecting voters to choose their representatives.

However, if the maps you enact DO reflect the overall statewide vote, Hoosiers may begin to acknowledge that their Constitution’s requirement is being met: “All elections shall be free and equal.” THAT WOULD be GOOD for INDIANA.

Please choose to work for the common good. THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR INDIANA.

Thank you.

Good morning. I am Chris Paulsen, a Member of the Board of Directors for Women 4 Change and a voting resident of Senator Sandlin’s district. I appreciate the opportunity to have our voices heard about redistricting and the maps that will guide our state for the next decade.

Women 4 Change, a non-partisan organization, has invested sizable time and resources into this conversation on redistricting to work toward maps that are fair for everyone. We don’t want to see a super-majority on either side of the aisle.

The maps that are currently proposed are going to delay Women 4 Change’s fight for equal voice as these maps ignore the votes and voices of many thousands of Hoosiers.  The proposed maps will leave people feeling that their voice doesn't matter, that our system does not support everyone, and eventually will continue the narrative that voting doesn't do anything. In order to make our government representative, we need Hoosiers to be more involved, not less involved.

The existing Indiana map was one of the most gerrymandered plans in American political history, but the proposed Senate map is even more biased. It’s heavy pro-Republican slant lands it among the 2% most pro-Republican maps in American history. 

Professor Christopher Warshaw, a nationally recognized expert in Redistricting, has demonstrated:
• Though Democrats have on average cast about 44% of the votes statewide over the past few years;
Under the proposed map Democrats will, in most years, get only 12 or 13 seats, or at most 26% of the seats. Think about that - 26% of the seats for 44% of the votes!!!
• The Republican Senate map locks in a continued supermajority for Republicans of, on average, 37 or 38 seats, for about 74% of the seats.

The result - Democrats are wholly shut out, and Republicans help themselves to ten more years of one-party rule in Indiana. I want to reiterate, that Women 4 Change does not support any supermajority when that is not the make up of the voters in Indiana.

Prof. Warshaw’s full and detailed report, with all the math, is posted on the Women 4 Change website—women4changeindiana.org

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We’ve heard talk about prioritizing keeping “communities of interest” together.  That focus is misplaced. Over-prioritizing “communities of interest”  just packs like voters into fewer districts which often actually diminishes the voices of those voters in the legislature. Communities of interest will be more fairly represented, not less, if we don’t pack voters.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY - WE CAN HAVE BETTER MAPS. We ask you to stop and take a breath. Look at some of the other maps out there. Then choose a map that gives the minority party the representation it has earned.

Thank you again for taking the time to hear from voters today about this very important topic.

My name is Haley Bougher and I am the Director of Education and Advocacy for Women4Change. I was born and raised in Beech Grove and it remains the home of my parents, 4 grandparents, and sister.

Based on the proposed maps, their four homes are going to be divided in into two congressional districts, the 7th and the 6th. You cannot tell me that their urban homes fit in with all of rural Indiana. It throws away the vote of the those in half of Beech Grove.

If you are trying to tell us—it could have been worse—-than all I can say is—-it could have been better. It could have been more fair. It could have preserved our democracy rather than preserving your own jobs.

These new maps have nothing to do with representation and the will of the people…this is about control. We have seen how extreme the parties have become without the guardrails of competition and compromise. Thank you

Hello everyone, my name is Noelle Snider and I am the Communications and Advocacy Coordinator at Women4Change. It is an honor to be with you all and fighting for fair maps together.

This morning we released an analysis of the released maps, and here are the results.

Though 44% of Indiana voters generally vote Democratic, the proposed maps will give Democrats only 22% of the congressional seats, and only 31% of the seats in the Statehouse.
The proposed maps "have historically extreme levels of partisan bias.”
They are roughly equivalent to the severely biased 2011 maps.
Both proposed maps are more biased towards Republicans than 90% of all plans enacted in the United States over the past 50 years, for which data exists.

But, let’s be clear. This is a problem for all parties. We are a nonpartisan group, fighting for fair maps because it affects everyone.

This information and these maps? Are not just a problem today. This is a problem for tomorrow, next year, and the next decade. This affects more than just me, more than just you, and more than just the decision makers inside.

This affects our children. Half of our elementary school students will be voting in the same maps that are decided today. They should believe that their vote counts. They should believe their government and representatives are listening. Right now… they can’t.

This affects our women. Women represent over half of the Indiana population, but their voices are still not heard. We need fair maps so that women’s health, economic stability, business, and future are in good hands. We need fair maps and equal representation so our kids can grow up with strong women in office, and not know it any other way. Right now… that equality is at stake.

This affects people of color. So many remarks have been made about the decrease of Indiana’s population in most districts, but our racial and ethnic numbers have increased and that isn’t being talked about. Our past district maps have been made to dilute the vote of people of color. We need fair so their voices are heard and not pushed farther away. Right now… that’s not happening.

Each and every one of us has a reason for being here right now. Your county may have been cut in half. Your family might be in different districts. You believed the process was too fast, too soon, and not delivered in the appropriate way. But together, we are all here for a better future for all Hoosiers, for a better decade than the past.

We will not stop the Fight 4 Fair maps. Show up to the Senate maps public hearings. Show up to the future rallies. Get educated at our redistricting event next week. And CONTINUE to be loud. They don’t want our votes to count, but that doesn’t mean our voices can't be heard.