By SHARI FRANK, guest columnist

Brown County Council Districts are being redrawn this year, as were the nine Indiana Congressional Districts in Indiana, and the 150 Indiana state Senate and House districts.

Redistricting is required every 10 years, after each Census, to even out population shifts between districts.

Brown County has seven members who serve on the county council. Four are district council members, elected from the four county districts. Members must live within these districts to be eligible and only voters who live within their district can vote for a district candidate. Three of the seven county council members are “at-large,” meaning they can live anywhere in the county and all county voters elect them.

Council members serve four year terms. At-large members and district members are elected in alternating election cycles every two years.

Brown County Council districts are being redrawn this year. The new district maps will be used in 2022 council district elections and for the next ten years, until the next Census. The districts matter because they determine who votes with who to elect a district council member. Will Jackson 1 vote with Hamblen 2, or with Jackson 2, 3 and 4? How will the lines be drawn? What criteria is used to decide who votes with who?

Brown County Commissioners are inviting the public to submit map proposals by Nov. 3. League of Women Voters Brown County (LWVBC) applauds the commissioners for encouraging public participation. Public input provides more information and results in better decisions. Once the commissioners develop and release final maps, Commissioner Diana Biddle indicated the public will have 10 days to voice concerns. We hope lots of folks will offer input to help develop representative maps for Brown Countians.

Development of Council Districts is subject to specific mandated criteria such as:

Districts cannot cross precinct boundaries. Precincts are the divisions within townships, like H1, H2 and H3 in Hamblen. Redistricting criteria says a council district cannot split precincts.

Districts must be compact. Compactness means that constituents in a district should live as near to one another as possible.

Districts must contain, as nearly as possible, equal population. For congressional districts, the standard is near equal. For state legislative districts, 10 percent population deviation appears to be maximum allowance. Exceptions may be approved by states, typically if exceptions are necessary to meet other criteria and districts are not racially gerrymandered. The maximum deviation allowed for counties is unclear.

Districts must include whole townships, except when a division is clearly necessary. Townships should not be split into separate districts unless unavoidable.

Districts must be contiguous. Precincts can only be grouped into a council district together if their borders touch.

This year during redistricting for U.S. congressional, state House and state Senate districts, one thing became clear: Voters want districts that keep communities together so they can work on common interests. They want representatives who know their needs, who listen and will represent them. This was voiced repeatedly by Hoosiers during legislative sessions and hearings held by the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission. See ICRC’s report here: https://www.allinfordemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Indiana-Citizens-Redistricting-Commission-Spring-2021-Report.pdf

So, how well do county council districts represent Brown Countians? Compare two district map proposals and see how representation changes with the way district lines are drawn.

Map one was presented by the commissioners:

• Districts do not keep townships whole wherever possible. Instead, Jackson Township is split among three council districts; Hamblen Township is split among two districts; Washington Township is split among two districts; only Van Buren Township is kept whole within one district.
• Districts are not compact. District 4 stretches from one county boundary to another, from the north boundary to the south boundary, and from the eastern to the western boundary in the southern portion, creating an ‘L’ shape. Districts mix lakes communities with forest communities, preventing either from voting on specific lake or forest issues for their locale. If districts are so diverse, what is the advantage of having district council members vs. at-large council representation?

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Map two was proposed by League of Women Votershttp://www.bcdemocrat.com/?attachment_id=1785210 Brown County:

• Districts keep townships whole as much as possible, complying with mandated criteria. Jackson, Hamblen and Van Buren townships are kept whole. Only Washington Township is split into two districts to reduce population deviation.
• Districts are compact. No district stretches from north to south. The Lakes and forest areas are grouped more cohesively to improve residents’ ability to work for shared interests. Compact districts that encompass unique features in one district allow a council member to understand and better represent concerns, like to protect forests, lakes, watersheds or businesses.

[embeddoc url=”http://www.bcdemocrat.com/wp-content/files/sites/3/2021/11/MAP-2-LOWVBC-.pdf” download=”all”]

Having districts that keep townships whole is important and is mandated. This also offers better representation opportunities for voter communities. Minimizing population deviation between districts is also important and mandated. Fair maps develop districts that take into consideration what is important to voters in representation, along with striving for population equity. We hope the final map selections will incorporate voters requests for improved representation.

This may seem a little too soon, but, while it’s fresh on everyone’s minds, LWVBC recommends the commissioners begin looking toward 2031 redistricting sooner rather than later. Fair redistricting takes time, thought and planning. County precincts will need adjustment to improve population equity between districts and still keep communities together to provide fair representation.

We encourage the commissioners to develop a Citizen Redistricting Commission to study the options, get public input and develop recommendations for future county council districts.

Shari Frank submitted this column on behalf of the League of Women Voters Brown County. Frank is the president of the LOWV Brown County. She can be reached at [email protected].