Redistricting 101
Redistricting is the process used by government bodies every 10 years to redraw the boundaries of electoral districts. Gerrymandering is partisan redistricting. Both Democrats and Republicans engage in gerrymandering; generally, the party in power draws the electoral maps. According to a recent study, Indiana’s General Assembly and Legislative Maps are now more biased toward one party than 95% of maps enacted in other states, over the past 50 years.
So...What's the Problem?
Gerrymandering undermines our democracy by allowing representatives to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives:
- It reduces competition.
- It discourages voting.
- It splinters specific communities, such as cities and towns, school districts, neighborhoods, and minority communities.
LWV-BMC has developed a presentation on redistricting and fair maps that can be viewed online or presented to groups. See the information below. This page also provides redistricting news and articles, a calendar of events, resources, and suggests action steps. Get involved!
View Video Online
Click here to access the video (34 minutes). At the point in the video where the short film is introduced (Slide 13), you can stop the video and click here to watch the 7-minute film “The Man Who Rigged America’s Election Maps.” Then continue the video. See the resources and action items below.
View the Presentation (at your leisure!)
If you wish to take your time with the information in the video, go through the presentation guide, which provides both the slides and the script.
Schedule a Presentation
If your group or organization would like a showing of the presentation video and short film, followed by a live Q&A session with some of the presenters, please contact league@lwv-bmc.org to set this up.
Conduct a Presentation
The League is happy to provide the means for groups to conduct their own presentations. You can present the video as described above or use the PowerPoint file and presentation guide.
Have questions? Ask for our team at league@lwv-bmc.org.