Editorial: Here's how to fix Indiana's rigged voting system

IndyStar
Voters received an "I voted early" sticker after voting in advance of the November election

Let's be honest: Republicans have gamed Indiana's voting system to their advantage.

They gerrymandered congressional and legislative districts in their favor after the 2010 Census, helping the party gain supermajorities in the Indiana House and Senate. They've also suppressed the number of early voting sites in Democratic areas while encouraging their expansion in counties where Republicans dominate.

Consider that in Marion County, population 939,000, voters can cast early ballots at only one location, at the City-County Building in congested Downtown. Republicans repeatedly have blocked proposals to open more voting centers in Indy.

But in Hamilton County, population 309,000, voters enjoy the convenience of three early voting sites. And Republicans there, in a county where Democrats often struggle to field candidates, support opening more centers.

The results are not surprising. As IndyStar reporter Fatima Hussein documented, the number of early ballots has sharply increased in recent years in Republican-heavy Hamilton County and declined in Democratic-friendly Marion County.

Republicans didn't invent gerrymandering. Both parties have used it to their advantage over the years, including after the 2000 census when Indiana Democrats drew district maps heavily skewed in their favor. 

And Republicans still would do well in the state even if we had a truly equal voting system. After all, Donald Trump won Indiana by 19 percentage points last year, and only one Democratic presidential candidate (Barack Obama in 2008) has won the state in the past 50 years. There's not much doubt that Indiana is a red state.

But the unequal voting system now in place is unacceptable in a state and nation built on the ideal that every eligible voter has a right to be heard.

What needs to change?

To start, the General Assembly should eliminate the requirement that county election boards reach unanimous agreement before opening an early voting center. That rule has let the lone Republican member of the Marion County board repeatedly block plans to add centers. The state also should take over responsibility for the cost of early voting; the current county-by-county funding leads to unequal access in different parts of the state.

It's also long past time for Indiana to create a bipartisan redistricting committee, responsible for redrawing congressional and legislative maps. More politically balanced districts would encourage higher voter turnout.

Gov. Eric Holcomb, House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate leaders need to make the protection of voting rights a high priority as they craft their 2018 legislative agendas.

Equal access to voting is a core value in our democratic society. It needs to become a core practice in our state.