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Indiana's GOP Shows Us the Future of Gerrymandering -- And It's Grim: A Conversation With Election Law Expert Luis Fuente
https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/indiana-gop-shows-us-the-future-of-gerrymandering/Indiana has rapidly become the latest flashpoint in the GOP’s national push to engineer aggressive mid-decade gerrymanders. Few states illustrate the immense costs to voters and how far lawmakers are willing to go to appease President Donald Trump.
Republican lawmakers initially resisted redistricting, but after weeks of pressure, threats and intimidation, that resistance collapsed and suddenly transformed into a full-scale effort to redraw the state’s congressional map.
Their proposed plan, passed by the Indiana House, would eliminate the state’s two Democratic-leaning districts by splintering Indianapolis and the surrounding Marion County — home to a significant Black population — and giving the GOP a 9–0 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation.
The GOP’s accompanying legislation goes even further, restricting lower state courts from issuing orders that could block the new map and funneling any challenges straight to the Indiana Supreme Court on an expedited schedule.
To better understand what is unfolding in Indiana — how this unprecedented map was designed, what the court provisions mean and how a looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling could reshape the future of redistricting— Democracy Docket spoke with Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, a leading election law scholar at Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law.
Republican lawmakers initially resisted redistricting, but after weeks of pressure, threats and intimidation, that resistance collapsed and suddenly transformed into a full-scale effort to redraw the state’s congressional map.
Their proposed plan, passed by the Indiana House, would eliminate the state’s two Democratic-leaning districts by splintering Indianapolis and the surrounding Marion County — home to a significant Black population — and giving the GOP a 9–0 advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation.
The GOP’s accompanying legislation goes even further, restricting lower state courts from issuing orders that could block the new map and funneling any challenges straight to the Indiana Supreme Court on an expedited schedule.
To better understand what is unfolding in Indiana — how this unprecedented map was designed, what the court provisions mean and how a looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling could reshape the future of redistricting— Democracy Docket spoke with Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, a leading election law scholar at Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law.
Indiana lawmakers pushing for the new GOP gerrymander are either ignoring the VRA or assuming it's about to disappear, said election scholar Prof. Luis Fuentes-Rohwer.
— Democracy Docket (@democracydocket.com) 2025-12-08T17:16:02.502282044Z
And if they're right, we'll be entering a dark era where map-drawing has no limits.