Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

This year, Indiana lawmakers passed a bill to extend the 2021 legislative session from April until November.

The move was necessary because the Census Bureau won’t release redistricting data until August – attributing the delays to effects of COVID-19.

The Indiana Constitution requires the state to redraw state House and Senate District lines every ten years. 

Special attention is being paid to Indiana redistricting because Indiana now has a Republican supermajority in both the House and Senate.

And a study published in May, commissioned by the nonpartisan group Women4Change Indiana, finds that Indiana’s 2011 redistricting plan were more biased to one party then 95 percent of all US districting plans in the last 50 years.

It also said that until 2011 redistricting, how biased Indiana’s lines were was similar to other states.

The study says that in 2012 elections, Republican candidates won 54.2 percent of the statewide two-party congressional vote, but they won 78 percent of Indiana’s congressional seats.

This week, we’ll talk about the study’s findings and their implications on Indiana politics. We’ll also talk about how 2021 redistricting will set the stage for Indiana politics for the next ten years.

You can follow us on Twitter @NoonEdition or join us on the air by calling in at 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send us questions for the show at news@indianapublicmedia.org.

Note: This week of our guests and hosts will participate remotely to avoid risk of spreading infection. 

Guests

Chris Warsaw, George Washington University, associate professor of politcal science, study author

Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana, policy director

Andy Downs, Mike Downs Center For Indiana Politics, director