Resolution 16-09

This resolution is sponsored by Councilmembers Granger, Rollo, and Sandberg and comes at the request of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County. The resolution documents Indiana’s current process for drawing U.S. Congressional and Indiana General Assembly maps and points out that the process is one that favors incumbency and political parties. This is an outdated practice that stifles political competition, discourages compromise, and ensures the continued control by the party in power. The resolution calls for the Indiana General Assembly-created Special Interim Committee on Redistricting to produce a final report that supports the establishmentof a citizen-led commission whose criteria for boundary drawing include: contiguity, compactness, communities of interest, political competition, protection of voting rights, and fidelity to the principle of “one person, one vote.” The resolution states that criteria for consideration should not include voter registration data, incumbents’ addresses, nor previous election results. The resolution calls for the redistricting process to be transparent. The legislation directs the City Clerk to send the resolution to the Interim Committee, and other stakeholders.