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Reported by: Michael Chesney Friday, Sep 11, 2009 @07:30am CDT Your representatives in Washington, DC and in Indianapolis could be changing.
Indiana's Secretary of State has put out an initial proposal for how to redraw the state's legislative districts. It's a process that has to happen every time there's a census to make sure each voter gets an equal say. And, this could have a big impact on who represents a whole bunch of Tri-Staters. Rockport, Spencer Co. people here probably don't care about something like "legislative redistricting," and that would make them a lot like the rest of the country. Indiana Sect. of State Todd Rokita said national polling shows 70-percent of people don't care how districts are redrawn in their state. But, County Republican Chair Jerriann Burroughs explained why they and you should. "It's our roads," she said. "It's our health care. It's the things that affect us here. That's the only representation that we have." Rokita's redistricting plan is especially important here because the Warrick-Spencer County line is currently the start of Indiana's 9th District, represented by Rep. Baron Hill. But, the proposed change would bring Spencer, Dubois and Perry county into the 8th District, Rep. Brad Ellsworth's territory. He already represents all the other Indiana counties in the Tri-State. It's a move Burroughs thinks would make sense. "Our issues that we have here in Spencer County are more closely related with Vanderburgh and Warrick then they are with Jeffersonville and New Albany. I've always felt like we were the stepchild of the ninth district." And, it's not just the lines for the US House of Representatives that will change. It's also the ones for the Indiana State House and Senate. Burroughs said one of the most important things is making sure legislative district lines are simple for people to understand. They're often too complicated. On one side of Fifth St. in Rockport is State Rep. Russ Stillwell's district. The other side State Rep. Suzanne Crouch's district. People also often worry lawmakers will draw oddly shaped districts to gain some political advantage in an area. Rokita said he likes his proposal because it's even, clean and simple. "When you're not worried about protecting your political buddies, when you're not worried about what the politics of a specific district are, it's a simpler job to do." Whatever changes end up going through will take affect for the 2012 elections. Some state lawmakers aren't happy about Rokita making this proposal. They said it's not his job, because redistricting is a legislative process. But, Rokita points to his status as the state's head election official as more than enough reason for him to be the one to at least get the ball rolling. Click document below for specifics of Sect. Rokita's proposal. |