Kentucky Should Follow Indiana's Lead in Politics — Not Basketball

The Unfair Game of Redistricting

Imagine it's the NCAA final. The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have both made it to the championship game, set to take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. As the crowd fills up, 60% of the tickets are sold to Louisville fans, while 40% go to UK fans. While the majority of the crowd might be wearing red, the Blue Nation will still have a strong presence. But what does this have to do with redistricting?

Let’s imagine that when the doors open, the Louisville team decides who gets to enter the arena. They turn away enough UK fans so that now 78% of the crowd is on their side. This is similar to how some political maps are drawn—favoring one party over another, even if the majority of voters don't support them.

Indiana's Map Skews GOP

Currently, Indiana's U.S. congressional map has a significant Republican advantage. In the 2024 election, about 60% of Hoosiers voted for Republicans, but they make up 78% of Indiana's congressional representation in Washington. Donald Trump wanted to push this number even higher, aiming for 89% or even 100%. This kind of pressure campaign happened during the middle of a decade, without any census data to justify the change—a process that typically takes years.

This would be like the Louisville players deciding who can enter the arena during halftime. If you were wearing blue, you’d be furious. Even if you’re just a fan of fair play, you wouldn’t want your team to control the entry points.

In basketball, as in democracy, you shouldn’t get to move the goals or block the doors once the game has already started. You don’t choose which fans show up. You play for everyone who puts their butts in the seats, whether they're cheering for or against your team.

The Indiana Senate Believes in Fair Play

This isn’t just an abstract concept anymore. Earlier this month, Indiana's proposed mid-decade map passed the state House by a 57-41 vote, but ultimately failed in the state Senate. President Trump and his allies tried to whitewash the result, blaming it on a small group of radical Republican defectors. However, the truth is that the majority of Republicans in the Indiana Senate rejected the bill.

They rejected the idea that 40% of the state should be unrepresented in Washington. Out of 50 state Senators, all 10 Democrats opposed the bill, and they were joined by 21 out of 40 Republicans for a final vote of 31-19 against redistricting. As other states consider their own redistricting battles, we can see that this pressure campaign is real, the process is advancing, and the only thing slowing it down is public resistance and a handful of legislators who still believe in rules.

If It Can Happen in Indiana, It Can Happen Here

As someone who has spent years following voting rights and redistricting issues in Kentucky and across the country, I've learned that the biggest threats to democracy often start quietly—and close to home.

Kentuckians have been far too complacent. We need to wake up and realize that this is not some distant problem. Republicans currently hold supermajorities in both Kentucky chambers. Nothing would stop them from breaking up District 3, which serves Jefferson County and consistently votes overwhelmingly for a Democrat. We just saw this play out: the failed Indiana map split Indianapolis among four mostly rural districts, where Republican constituents have very different concerns than urban and suburban voters around the capital.

Republicans already carved Kentucky up in 2022, in part to make sure James Comer can live comfortably in Frankfort, far away from his constituents. That same 2022 map also cracked the central Kentucky region, diluting the representation of hundreds of thousands of residents by shifting these counties across multiple districts. A Franklin Circuit Court judge already struck down our current map due to extreme partisan gerrymandering—only for the state Supreme Court to later reinstate it—showing just how close to home this issue is.

Call Your Legislators Before They Change the Rules Again

It is time for Hoosiers and Kentuckians of both parties to call their state representatives and fervently oppose all forms of gerrymandering and mid-decade redistricting. We need commitments to common sense and fair play, not more hyper-partisan national politics in our neighborhoods.

In Kentucky, you can always reach your state legislators at 1-800-372-7181. In Indiana, Hoosiers can contact their legislators to thank (or criticize) them for their vote through the Indiana General Assembly's constituent portal.

If you have to change the rules mid-game to win, you haven't really won anything.

Eric Ruppel is a software product manager and civic enthusiast based in Louisville. Originally from Richmond, he holds degrees in economics, international diplomacy, and finance. Eric writes on constitutional history and democratic resilience and serves on the Educate Committee for Kentucky Citizens for Democracy.