Equal Vote
St. JoeWhat is Equal Vote St. Joe?
Equal Vote St. Joe is a citizens group working to secure and maintain equal voting rights for all citizens in St. Joseph County and throughout the State of Indiana. The group was formed in light of the recent gerrymandering efforts undertaken in the redistricting process for the county.
Equal Vote St. Joe strives to achieve and maintain free and equal elections for all citizens in St. Joseph County and in Indiana.
What is
Gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering is contrary to democracy.
It is an effort by one political party to render the vote of their party members more important than the vote of other citizens.
There are two basic ways to gerrymander a district: cracking and packing:
- Cracking splits voters of similar groups or interests. With their voting strength divided, these groups struggle to elect their preferred candidates
- Packing concentrates certain groups of voters into as few districts as possible. While they are more likely to elect their preferred candidates, the groups’ voting strength is weakened by other districts.
Equal Vote St. Joe is against gerrymandering by whoever undertakes it. One person, one vote is what makes a democracy.
The Free and Equal Elections Clause of the Indiana Constitution
Indiana’s current Constitution was adopted in 1851. The Free and Equal Election Clause found in Article 2 simply states:
Section 1. All elections shall be free and equal.
The provision means that the vote of each citizen shall be equal to the vote of every other citizen. Other provisions in the Indiana Constitution are also consistent with this, and the Indiana Supreme Court has been consistent in support.
Any redistricting plan undertaken after a census is only lawful and legitimate if the result is that each person’s vote is equal to every other person.
The St. Joseph County Council Redistricting Map
This is the Map proposed by the council:
This is an example of “packing.”
Data has consistently shown that there are more Democrat voters in St. Joseph County than Republican voters, however, this map all but assures 2 of the County’s 3 seats would be occupied by Republicans. This map “packs” a high concentration of Democrats into District 2. Districts 1 and 3 are areas where more Republicans reside.
The result, by approximation, is the votes of Republicans in St. Joseph County will have a value nearly double that of Democrat votes. This violates the Free and Equal Elections Clause of the Indiana Constitution, requiring the votes of all Indiana citizens be equal.
The position of Equal Vote St. Joe is not political.
It is democratic.
We Need
You!!
Equal Vote St. Joe needs the help of all citizens of St. Joseph County—Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents—everyone.
We are calling all citizens to action.
What you can do:
Sign Our Petition
You can provide your support to stop all gerrymander efforts in St. Joseph County in all elections.
Volunteer
You can complete our questionnaire form and tell us how you can help: making phone calls, helping administrative tasks, and other efforts are all appreciated!
join the lawsuit
You can agree to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit to be brought of St. Joseph County Citizens here in the courts of our county.
Provide financial support
Money is needed to hire experts who will evaluate the district maps offered by the Council and Commissioners and develop alternatives to ensure that the vote of each citizen is equal and provide the best representation of all voters in St. Joseph County.