By SHARI FRANK, guest columnist

Voting is the foundation of democracy. Voting is how we choose the people who represent us in local, state and national issues. We vote for the people we believe will make the best decisions for us on issues such as taxes, schools, infrastructure, protecting the environment, and so many things that affect our daily lives. Every person’s vote should count equally: One person, one vote.

The power of boundary lines

When voting for U.S. senators, state boundaries define the voting district, and the popular vote of each state selects two U.S. senators.

However, when voting for U.S. congressional representatives, and for state senators and state House representatives, voters in a state are divided into voting districts.

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Who decides if cities will be kept together in a district? Who decides if rural residents will be kept together or split up into separate districts? Does it matter if Nashville and Brown County are included in the same congressional voting district as Greenwood? Does it matter if Brown County is in the same district as Jeffersonville? Will our elected representatives listen to Brown Countians equally to other parts of our district that may have very different needs and interests?

Voting district lines may be drawn to favor one party over another, helping elect whichever political party is in the majority at the time. This is called gerrymandering — drawing electoral district lines to favor one party, individual or constituency over another. The first gerrymandering occurred in 1812 when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed into law a state senate district map that gave disproportionate representation to his party. The crazy shape of the district resembled a salamander, and the word gerrymander was adopted to describe the practice.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Constitution requires a census to determine how the population has changed. The data collected during the 2020 census will be used to revise voting districts in Indiana. Districts are required to include about the same number of people, so if the population has increased or decreased, voting districts will be adjusted.

As in most states, the Indiana state legislature has the authority to draw new state legislature and congressional district boundaries. There is an inherent conflict of interest when lawmakers draw the electoral districts, enabling them to draw lines to favor themselves or their party.

In many states, such as Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Colorado and Utah, voters have passed ballot initiatives for redistricting reform. Here in Indiana, reform must be passed by the General Assembly because we have no means for a voter ballot initiative.

Why is reform needed?

Gerrymandering reduces competition. In 2016, 32 out of 100 Indiana House candidates and 8 of 25 Indiana Senate candidates ran unopposed.

Gerrymandering discourages voting because lack of competition in elections reduces voter interest. In 2016, a presidential election year, only 58 percent of Indiana voters voted. In 2014, Indiana had a voter turnout of 29 percent — the lowest in the nation.

Gerrymandering can splinter and harm communities of interest such as cities and towns, school districts, neighborhoods and minority communities.

Gerrymandering corrupts representative democracy.

Independent commissions use criteria to keep political boundaries and communities of interest together when developing districts. Arizona was one of the first states to use an independent redistricting commission in 2000, California in 2010. Four other states followed suit. Studies of the results show the districts to be much more competitive, a measure of increased fairness.

Criteria for fair redistricting

Special consideration should be given to identifying communities of interest, and care should be taken to ensure that district lines do not divide communities or inhibit their ability to make their voices heard. Districts should be compact and contiguous. Criteria for the drawing of districts should include population, ethnicity, socioeconomic background and location. The drawing of districts must comply with the Voting Rights Act and the principle of “one person, one vote.”

See the chart above demonstrating how districts can be drawn to unfairly skew elections; and review the picture of how Indiana’s 9th Congressional District has changed shape over the years.

Learn more locally

League of Women Voters advocates for fair redistricting. LWV Brown County invites you to attend a presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 7 at the Brown County Public Library, lower level. Julia Vaughn, of Common Cause, will be the featured speaker. Discussion will include explanations of how gerrymandering is done, how voting districts have changed over time, and current information on Indiana redistricting reform legislation being considered this legislative session.

Shari Frank is president of the League of Women Voters Brown County, lwvbrowncounty.org.