Anderson City Council approves new district map to end redistricting lawsuit

The Anderson City Council has voted to approve new district maps for the next local elections. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, the task was required by a federal judge to settle a lawsuit with local groups about the council not redistricting as required by law.

In 2023, voting rights groups Common Cause Indiana, the League of Women Voters, and the Madison County NAACP sued the Anderson City Council in federal court for not redrawing districts based on population changes in the 2020 census.

In fall of 2024, that judge ruled the council’s current maps are unconstitutional and must be redrawn.  To comply with the summary judgement, the council hired an outside consultant, CensusChannel LLC, to draw up several new district maps.

The council hopes “Map H” will be approved by a federal judge. (Thomas Ouellette / IPR)

This week, after reviewing 10 plans, the council moved forward what’s known as “map H.”

The council voted on the map several times in one meeting to move it through the process.  And votes changed each time.  That includes councilwoman Tiffany Harless.

“There was some sway to my decision making. And I do support my fellow council members. And, I’m gonna change my vote to map H. So, I vote yes on this one.”

As in past meetings, concerns were voiced that new maps would dilute Black representation in Anderson.  Despite that, map H got unanimous support on its third reading.

According to ChannelCensus, about 83 percent of Anderson residents will stay in the same council district.

Every one of the proposed maps saw some changes to each district. The 4th district, represented by Councilman Ollie Dixon, will continue to have a minority representing the majority population in the approved map.

During the meeting, Councilwoman Jennifer Culp said deliberation for the maps took so long because every council member wanted what was best for their district.

“I felt like I needed to protect my district. And last Thursday, I heard Councilman [Jef] Freeman talking about this. He said, ‘I’ve got to protect my district,’ And I said, you know, that makes sense. We do have to protect our districts as well,” said Culp.

The council affirms that each map created by CensusChannel was made in line with federal law.

The map will be submitted on Friday to the federal court for its approval.

In a statement, Common Cause Indiana Executive Director Julia Vaughn said, “Updating districts to reflect new census population counts empowers the people to effectively advocate and ensures equal representation of communities. While we wish the city had not engaged in a long, expensive legal battle that costs Anderson taxpayer money to finally do the right thing, we are happy that a conclusion is in sight.“

Seats for the Anderson City Council are next up for election in 2027.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at [email protected]

(Courtesy of the Anderson City Council)