Federal judge dismisses Anderson redistricting case after new maps approved

A federal judge has approved new district maps for the Anderson City Council, creating an official end to a lawsuit over the council’s reluctance to redistrict with updated US Census numbers. IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports on what this means for Anderson residents.

Approved new district maps led Judge James R. Sweeney II to dismiss a 2023 lawsuit from Common Cause Indiana, the League of Women Voters, Anderson-Madison County NAACP, and two individual voters.

Previously, Sweeney said maps that hadn’t been redrawn since 1982 were unconstitutional.   After initially drawing new maps themselves, Anderson City Council members hired a consultant to draw new districts. 

About 17 percent of Anderson will now be in a new district and have a different council representative.

City Council President Lance Stephenson says he is relieved the lawsuit is over, even though some council members wanted to continue to fight the decision.

“But we felt the more we fight, the more we fight, the more it’s going to cost taxpayers,” Stephenson said. “We drew a map or agreed to a map that that we think worked good for everybody.”

(Courtesy of the Anderson City Council)

The council had to approve more money this week to pay attorney fees for the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, appropriating $160,000 for that purpose.  That does not include its own legal fees and the map consultant’s fee.  The council had previously paid $150,000 in legal service fees to a Chicago firm that Anderson hired and eventually parted ways with in December.

Councilman Ollie Dixon, who was a vocal opponent of drawing new maps, withdrew himself from the meeting before the vote for the appropriations.

According to the council, the new districts will go into effect immediately.

The next council election is in 2027.  The next US Census, which could adjust districts again, is in 2030.

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