Madison County delays reprecincting after residents, officials press for clearer maps and more time

Madison County commissioners on a routine agenda item paused action on a proposed reprecincting plan after a lengthy public comment period in which city officials, precinct committeepersons and residents raised concerns about transparency and minority representation.

Devin Scroggins, a board member for voter registration, and Chris Lintz, a Republican voter-registration board member, told the commissioners that the county’s reprecincting project updates precinct lines so they match recent city redistricting and post-annexation changes. Scroggins said the work’s goals were to eliminate split precincts, ensure precincts generally meet the state guideline of about 600 active voters, and rename precincts so numeric labels follow district numbering. He said the state’s Office of Census Data and the Indiana Election Division (IED) had given initial review and that the county’s orders would remain proposed until final state review and a 10-day public notice period.

Several speakers urged delay. Anderson City Council member Ollie Dixon said the city’s redistricting had the effect of diluting Black voting strength and said he intended to file a federal challenge; Dixon said, “I’m going to file a federal lawsuit,” citing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Others, including precinct committeepersons and party officials, complained that the precinct maps and accompanying materials were posted at short notice and lacked street names or side-by-side comparisons to existing maps, making it difficult for residents and party chairs to see how boundaries and precinct committeeperson assignments would change.

Terry Austin, a private citizen who reviewed the materials, told the board the provided maps lacked street identifiers and recommended tabling the orders until the county could publish color-coded, side-by-side overlays and a simple change log showing what was added, removed and how many voters were affected. Kelly (surname transcribed in the record as both 'Huer' and 'Hubert'), the county Republican chair, said she had been notified but not meaningfully involved and urged more review because the changes affect many precinct committeepersons.

Voter-registration staff responded that some maps were provided electronically in color and that staff would try to obtain versions with road names from the state and upload existing and proposed maps to the voter-registration and commissioners’ websites. Staff estimated maps could be posted to the site within the week and committed to making an overlay and a plain-language chart available. Scroggins reiterated that any county action would remain proposed through the state’s 10-day public-notice period and that the state would handle final challenges and remonstrations.

After public comment and questions from commissioners about timing, a motion to continue consideration to the board’s Dec. 16 meeting — giving staff time to post maps and compile the requested materials — passed on a voice vote.

What’s next: Voter-registration staff said they would post color maps and overlay materials online and prepare a precinct-by-precinct change log before the Dec. 16 meeting; the county’s orders will remain proposed until the Indiana Election Division and Office of Census Data complete their reviews and the required public-notice and challenge period elapses.