When Indiana’s GOP supermajority opened an early legislative session Monday, Democrats expected a gerrymander favoring Republicans.

But hardly anyone would have predicted the unusual provisions that appear aimed at shielding the legislation from most state court review and fast-tracking its path to the state supreme court.

Democrats argued the provisions are unlike anything they have seen in modern redistricting fights — a direct attack on the checks and balances that are meant to protect fair elections. One lawmaker called the provisions “flamingly unconstitutional.”

But the goal appears clear: to ensure legal challenges don’t stop the gerrymander from coming into force before the 2026 midterm elections.

The redistricting bill (HB 1032), filed by state Rep. Ben Smaltz (R), would allow Indiana lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional lines mid-decade, as seen earlier this year in states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina.