Indiana State Rep. Brad Barrett voted for reworking Indiana’s election maps to ensure that Hoosiers are only represented by Republicans in Congress. State Sen. Jeff Raatz has indicated his plans to vote yes as well.
Indiana’s House of Representatives voted 51-47 for House Bill 1032 favoring redistricting on Friday, Dec. 5. Barrett, a Richmond Republican, was among those voting yes.
Earlier that week, Raatz issued a statement claiming that the Indiana redistricting is necessary to offset the influence of voters and district maps in other states. He said he’d heard from a portion of constituents on both side of the issue.
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston has said that the proposed maps “were put together with the interest of trying to create as many Republican seats as possible.”
If approved, Indiana’s congressional districts would be rearranged, and Marion County would be split into four districts instead of two. The end result would likely be an exclusively Republican 9-seat delegation to the U.S. Congress.
None of Indiana Democrats’ 21 proposed amendments to the bill were approved.
Indiana Senate is expected to vote this week on the issue.
READ: Testimony begins, with initial Senate redistricting vote expected Monday
Indiana Senate Democrats say the bill diminishes representation for Hoosiers.
“This bill tears apart communities, strips voters of representation they voted for and hands control to national figures who are more interested in cementing absolute power rather than solving any problems,” Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder of Bloomington said in a statement. “Hoosiers should pick their leaders. Politicians should not redraw the map to pick the voters.”
A version of this article appeared in the December 10 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.