A majority of people across three political parties — Republicans, Democrats and independents — oppose mid-decade redistricting, a national survey commissioned by Common Cause found.
Noble Predictive Insights, commissioned by Common Cause, conducted a national poll surveying more than 2,000 registered voters nationally and about 500 registered voters in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas between Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, according to a release.
The poll found that 84% of U.S. registered voters say the way voting district boundaries are drawn is important to the overall health of democracy.
The poll found that 60% of voters oppose political parties engaging in mid-decade redistricting, while 46% of voters support states responding to another state changing its boundaries. But, 44% of voters oppose state lawmakers leaving their state to prevent a session for redistricting, the poll found.
When it comes to drawing the maps, 39% of voters trust a bipartisan independent commission to draw the boundaries while 68% of voters say it is bad for the country for one political party to control how the districts are drawn, according to the poll.
The poll found that 78% of voters support putting community interests over political advantage when drawing the maps and 77% of voters support having independent commissions draw electoral districts.
Common Cause Indiana Executive Director Julia Vaughn said Indiana voters were included in the national voter portion of the poll. While Indiana wasn’t included in the bonus states due to its size, Vaughn said the poll reflects Hoosiers’ opinion on mid-census redistricting and gerrymandering, or when a political party draws congressional lines in favor of its party.
Vaughn said she hopes Indiana lawmakers’ takeaway from the poll is that Hoosier voters have the same views the poll found, which are that voters don’t support mid-census redistricting or gerrymandering.
“People understand that this is a power grab, so they see it as illegitimate. They don’t want it to happen. I would certainly hope that Indiana lawmakers, as they contemplate a special session, that they keep these polling numbers in mind,” Vaughn said.
President Donald Trump and national Republicans have been pressuring red states to change their congressional maps before the 2026 election to solidify Republican control of the U.S. House. Currently, Republicans hold a slim majority of 6 representatives.
Texas lawmakers recently approved redistricted maps to include five new districts that would favor Republicans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed off on the new maps, but a lawsuit has been filed against Abbott and the Secretary of State for the maps.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has approved a special election to take place in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year.
Meanwhile, Trump has pushed other Republican-controlled states, including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable Republican seats. Missouri’s House voted Tuesday to approve the new maps, while the Senate is expected to vote on the measure later this week. Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.
It is unusual for redistricting to take place in the middle of the decade and typically occurs once at the beginning of each decade to coincide with the census.
Indiana was last redistricted in 2021, which left Congressional Republicans with seven seats and Democrats two seats. The two Democratic seats are the first district, held by U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, and the seventh district, held by U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indianapolis.
Indiana Republican legislators went to the White House Aug. 27 where, according to Politico, Vice President J.D. Vance met with more than 55 state legislators to discuss redistricting. Trump then met privately with Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, and House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fisher.
Gov. Mike Braun hasn’t called a special session to address redistricting as of Thursday afternoon. Braun has maintained that he is noncommittal on calling a special session, adding that the decision will depend on consensus within the legislature.
As legislators contemplate mid-census redistricting Indiana, those who oppose the measure have a feeling of “no news is good news,” Vaughn said.
“We’re just going to continue to raise the voices of Hoosiers who are speaking out against this,” Vaughn said. “We’re confident if they are only listening to Hoosiers this special session will not happen. If they let outsiders in and they listen to them, then it will happen.”
Once a staunch opponent to redistricting, Rep. Jim Lucas, who posted photos on Facebook of himself attending the White House meeting, told the Indiana Capitol Chronicle has softened his stance after hearing from Vance.
On Wednesday, Lucas, R-Seymour, said on X/Twitter he supports redistricting because after receiving back surgery at a privately-owned hospital in Indiana he realized that’s how healthcare should be.
“If the Dems take control of the House midterm, places like this might go under and the rest of Trump’s reforms in healthcare, energy cost, border control, immigration and voter reform, etc. will be dead in the water,” Lucas said.
