Every ten years, the Constitution requires a census to be taken and Congressional districts to be reapportioned. That is, Congressional districts must be reconfigured so that each district in a state contains roughly the same number of people. That is one of the ways we guarantee that every citizen gets equal representation. The last census was conducted in 2010, with data made available to each state in 2011 so that they could draw new lines for their state's Congressional districts.
Using the new census data, the Indiana General Assembly drew new boundary lines for Indiana's nine congressional districts. When they drew the lines in 2001, there were approximately 675,000 Hoosiers living in each district. By 2011, Indiana's population grew so much that it was necessary to put approximately 720,000 people into each district. The 9th District had expanded to 729,000, so about 9,000 people had to be moved to other districts. After the General Assembly approved the maps last April, Governor Daniels signed them into law.
To help you understand how this might affect you, we've prepared a map below where you can roughly see how the new district lines compare to the current district lines. The current district is show in blue, and the new district is shown in red. They overlap to create a purple area. While constituents will vote within the new boundaries in 2012, your current Congressional representation will not change until 2013.
This means that if you live in the purple area, you will have no change in your Congressional district between 2012 and 2013 and probably won't notice much of a difference. If you live in one of the blue areas, you will vote in a new district in 2012. However, it is important to note that I am still your Congressman until January 3, 2013. Our office is still here to be your liasion to the federal government and we will continue to work for you until then. Conversely, if you live in one of the red areas, you will be voting in the 9th District elections for the first time in 2012, but you will not be a 9th District resident until next year. You should still reach out to your current Congressman for assistance until January 3, 2013.
|Leaving the 9th District in 2013||New to the 9th District in 2013||Still in the 9th District in 2013|
| By County |
| By County |
View Understanding Redistricting in a larger map