Mike Wolanin | The Republic State Representatives Ryan Lauer, left, and Jim Lucas and take part in a legislative preview session at Columbus City Hall in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Dec.2, 2024.
State lawmakers representing parts of Bartholomew County on Friday mostly voted in favor of a proposed congressional map that would shift nearly 6,000 voters in the county into a new district.
Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, and Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, voted in favor of the map, which seeks to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts in ways that could flip two Democratic-held seats, according to state records. Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville, voted against the proposed map.
The proposed map cleared the House in a 57-41 vote.
Redistricting is a process that is normally done once a decade after the census. However, President Donald Trump and his allies have pushed Indiana Republicans to redraw congressional boundaries to favor GOP candidates as part of an effort to attempt to preserve the party’s narrow national majority in Congress.
Republicans currently hold seven of Indiana’s nine seats.
The proposed map would place all of Bartholomew County within Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, eliminating the current split between the 6th and 9th districts the county. A total of 5,964 registered Bartholomew County voters currently reside in the 9th District, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
Now the proposed map heads to the Senate, where there has been more opposition to redistricting.
This story will be updated.
