Center for Public Integrity: In Indiana, extreme gerrymandering and low voter turnout go hand-in-hand

As the CEO of Women4Change Indiana, Rima Shahid spends her time talking to potential voters, trying to convince them to support policies that would make the state a better place for women.

“The statement that we hear time and time again is that it doesn’t matter,” Shahid said.

It’s not that people in Indiana are apathetic. According to Shahid, they are disenfranchised.

Indiana’s election laws are strict. Voters need to show a government-issued ID to cast a ballot, they can  submit an absentee ballot only if they fall under one of 11 excused categories, and Indiana does not provide drop boxes for people to submit absentee ballots in more convenient times and locations.

The state adopted some of its most stringent election laws after Barack Obama won the state in 2008. He was the first Democratic candidate for president to win Indiana in 44 years, but a Democrat hasn’t taken the state since.

But the real issue with Indiana’s elections, according to Shahid and other activists, is the way the state’s political districts have been drawn up to ensure Republican control over the political process. …

Julia Vaughn, the executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said people seeking to expand election access in Indiana find themselves constantly on the defensive.

“Very rarely do we get the opportunity to talk about proactive, pro-voting rights or legislative changes. We are often trying to prevent bad things from happening,” Vaughn said. “We’re like that little boy who sticks his finger in the hole on the side of a dike to stop it from flooding, but we often times don’t have enough fingers.”