The Owen County Board of Commissioners voted April 17 to adopt Ordinance 2025005, a redistricting plan that redraws the county council election districts and splits Marion Township into two precincts.

The change, presented by David Shelton of Knox County, responds to population shifts from the 2020 census and aims to reduce population deviation among the county’s four council districts. Shelton told commissioners the county was “currently at about 38 percent population deviation” and that the proposed plan would cut that deviation to roughly 7.6 percent.

Shelton said counties must act after the decennial census to maintain equal representation under state law and to avoid litigation and other penalties. “If there is litigation filed, you will be paying both sides of attorney fees and the petitioner would be able to draw the maps as they see fit,” he said.

Under the ordinance the county’s four districts are composed as follows: District 1 — Harrison, Montgomery, Taylor, Washington 2, Wayne 1 and Wayne 2; District 2 — Washington 1, Washington 3 and Washington 4; District 3 — Lafayette, Jackson, Jennings, Marion 2 and Morgan; District 4 — Clay 1, Clay 2, Jefferson, Marion 1 and Franklin. The ordinance states it will be filed with the clerk of the circuit court and becomes effective upon adoption.

Commissioners passed the ordinance by voice vote after the reading and a brief clarification of precinct names. County staff and the consultant said two maps illustrating the split of Marion Township (referred to in the meeting as Marion 1 and Marion 2) will be prepared as exhibits and returned to the board for final approval; the ordinance as adopted references those exhibits.

The board’s action follows Shelton’s presentation about why redistricting was required under state code and the county’s limited alternatives — moving entire precincts or, where necessary, splitting a precinct as proposed for Marion Township. Shelton described the proposed two-precinct split as a common remedy when precinct boundaries and population concentrations make “bump” transfers of whole precincts impractical.

The county clerk will receive the order for filing. The commissioners and Shelton said the plan should remove the immediate compliance risk and need not be revisited until after the next census.

Ordinance 2025005 was adopted on April 17, 2025, and the board directed staff to file the order with the clerk’s office and prepare exhibit maps for the Marion split.