It was standing room only at Rep. Matt Pierce’s town hall Monday at City Hall in Bloomington.
Pierce, the democrat who represents Bloomington in the Indiana State House, held the town hall to invite constituents to discuss redistricting.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced Monday morning state legislators will be called to a special session Nov. 3 to redraw Indiana’s congressional map five years early. Pierce scheduled the town hall prior to the announcement, but Braun’s summons sharpened the event’s focus.
Redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries after the U.S. census every 10 years. The districts are drawn by the state legislature, but if both chambers of the legislature cannot agree on a new map, a backup commission must approve the new districts.
Indiana was not due to redistrict until after the 2030 census, but President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed Indiana Republicans to ask for a mid-decade redo to give Republicans more power over the House of Representatives.
Pierce opened the town hall by saying he does not believe many Indiana Republicans truly support redistricting.
“I don’t think they really want to do it,” Pierce said. “I think they know it’s wrong.”
Vice President JD Vance has visited Indianapolis twice to discuss redrawing the districts. Earlier this summer, Vance invited Republican leaders from Indiana to attend the State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where they discussed party strategy and key issues including redistricting.
Pierce said some representatives may be hesitant to defy Vance because they are afraid of losing the White House's support ahead of Indiana House primary races in 2026.
“There are a lot of people who are like, ‘I don't want to do it. Maybe I won't vote for it, but I don’t want to get out there and make myself a target and have all the stuff coming at me,’” Pierce said.
After his opening statement, Pierce fielded questions from an audience of around 100 people. An attendee asked him why Indiana Republicans are unable to resist “a bribe” from Trump, and Pierce said it was “a mystery.”
“Do you think the Republicans realize they are annihilating democracy?” another attendee asked.
In response, Pierce said he thinks Republicans are concerned about “the look,” and that they do not have a resolute way to justify redistricting.
“I think that they're conflicted because they can't think of a good way to explain what they're doing, other than just, you know, a sheer, naked power grab,” Pierce said.
The special session
Pierce said the special session could last up to 30 days, but if the legislature is able to bypass the required three separate reading days with a two-thirds vote, the new maps could be voted on during the first day. Republicans have the super majority in the state House, so the day-of vote is a possibility.
Normally, the governor would not call for a special session unless he knew he had the votes to pass the redraw, Pierce said. However, Monday morning reports said the push for redistricting still does not have enough votes to pass.
“I really think that they're probably a few votes short in the Senate of what they really need,” Pierce said. “And they're hoping that once they get into session and the focus gets on it, that essentially, that kind of MAGA base of primary voters will really start pressuring the people.”
Pierce said he thinks calling for a special session is a strategy from the White House.
“They’ve concluded that the best way to pressure the Republicans who said they don't want to vote for it is to get them into a session where the hot lights are on them and force them to put votes up on the board, because then they will be on record,” Pierce said.
Chrissie Geels, Chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said MCDP is hosting a phone banking and letter writing “party” from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday to encourage state legislators to vote against redistricting. The event will take place at MCDP headquarters at 115 E. Second St.
“I was heartened to see so many people turn out,” Geels said. “2025 is not an election year. To see so many people paying attention to something that’s going to be this pivotal is really exciting, and it makes me cautiously optimistic for higher engagement next year in 2026.”
