Pryor decries House passage of Republicans’ racially gerrymandered congressional maps

Today, Dec. 5, Indiana House Republicans passed House Bill 1032, their gerrymandered congressional map, after months of pressure from Washington D.C. The map carves up like-minded communities to give the Republican party an advantage in Indiana’s congressional elections. HB 1032 heads to the Senate for their consideration next week. 

State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis), House Minority Floor Leader and a member of the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment, released the following statement: 

“What happened today is a disgrace to this state. The author of this bill has been repeating over and over that this map was drawn purely for political performance, and that no consideration was given to the minority populations in the communities they decided to divide. Making the deliberate choice to ignore racial populations is just as bad as targeting them. Either way, a conscious effort was made to suppress the voting power of Black and brown Hoosiers. 

“These maps were drawn behind closed doors by political insiders who are not interested in the needs of Hoosiers, only maintaining their own power. Hoosiers have been telling us for months that they don’t want this. They want to be able to afford their utility bills, health care, child care, housing and groceries. Yet, the Republican supermajority in the House has told Hoosiers through their actions that they do not care about what is best for our state. If the D.C. establishment comes calling, that will be the priority.”