Nancy Michael and Rich Costello are neighbors. They live on the same street in the historic Woodruff Place neighborhood on Indianapolis’ near east side.
But, since they live on opposite sides of the street, they soon might belong to different congressional districts.
A proposed redistricting map from Indiana House Republicans would put Michael, 76, in District 9. Costello, 64, would be in District 6.
“That would be pretty weird,” said Costello, who lives on the east side of Woodruff Place West Drive.
Michael, who lives on the west side of the street, said it would be odd to look across the median and see neighbors living in a different district.
“I think it would be a shame,” she said.
Right now, Woodruff Place and most of the rest of Indianapolis are part of the 7th Congressional District, which covers the six most northern townships in Marion County.
House Republicans’ proposed alternative would divide Indianapolis into four districts.
Michael would be in the same district as someone who lives along the Indiana-Kentucky border. Costello would share a district with people as far east as Connersville in Fayette County — more than 60 miles away from Indianapolis.
“You can tell right away they didn’t put any thought into this,” Costello said.
Other odd lines in Indianapolis
Mirror Indy readers and social media users have pointed out other areas in Indianapolis where they say proposed congressional boundaries don’t make sense.
East 82nd Street would be divided near Castleton. On the west side of Graham Road would be District 4 — the same district as the Indiana Beach amusement park in Monticello. On the east side would be District 7 — same as Lawrenceburg along the Ohio River.
Get the backstory
And in the Windsor Park neighborhood — directly north of Woodruff Place — a curving line would divide the neighborhood into Districts 6 and 9.
Unlike some states, Indiana does not require congressional districts to preserve other political boundaries or communities of interest — a term to describe an area where residents share political interests.
The proposed map would divide one of the most racially diverse parts of the state. About 27% of Indianapolis residents are Black.
Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, said earlier this month that the proposed map is “purely for political performance.”
Even before there was a map to look at, some people said they worried that Indianapolis voters’ influence would be diluted.
The Indiana House voted Friday, Dec. 5, largely along party lines to approve the map. But the current version isn’t final.
Senate Republicans, some of whom are against mid-decade redistricting, could make changes. In that case, the House and Senate would have to come to an agreement before sending a map to Gov. Mike Braun for approval.
Is your neighborhood split by the proposed map? Let us know: hello@mirrorindy.org.
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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