The Indiana General Assembly will return to the Statehouse ahead of schedule for a special session on congressional redistricting, despite warnings there may not be enough votes to pass the measure.

Gov. Mike Braun announced the special session on Monday, two weeks after Vice President JD Vance made a second visit to Indianapolis to press Senate Republicans to support the unusual mid-decade remap. President Trump reportedly phoned in to the closed-door meeting as well.

Braun had previously said he would not call a special session until legislative leaders were “comfortable” with doing so and had the votes to pass new maps. The special session call comes despite warnings from Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray’s (R-Martinsville) press secretary that the Senate does not have the necessary 25 yes votes, a statement she repeated after Braun’s announcement. 

Braun set Nov. 3 as the start of the special session, but legislators will not convene that day. The date set by the governor starts a 40-day clock within which legislators must begin and end their work. House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) announced Wednesday he is working with Senate leaders to set a schedule when enough legislators will be available. Bray, in his own statement, indicated the session is unlikely to convene before Nov. 10 at the earliest.

The 40-day limit means legislators have until Dec. 13 to conduct the special session – but Huston notes that Organization Day, the normally ceremonial opening of the 2026 regular session, is required by law to take place Nov. 18. It was not immediately clear whether that requirement shortens the window for the special session to conclude.

Twelve of the 40 Senate Republicans have publicly announced support for redistricting, while five have declared their opposition. With Democrats certain to oppose new maps, Republicans would need support from at least 13 of the 23 GOP senators who have not taken a public stance. The House is believed to have the necessary 51 votes, despite vocal opposition from some Republican members.

Redistricting normally takes place every 10 years to reflect population changes from the new census and ensure each district has the same number of people. The White House has been pressuring Republican-led states to redistrict early, in an effort to protect the razor-thin GOP majority in the U.S. House by creating safer Republican districts. Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already obliged. Democratic-led California and Virginia have retaliated with redistricting efforts of their own, though voters in those states must give their blessing to the plan via referendum.

The White House hopes new Indiana maps would help them defeat Democratic Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, who was reelected by eight points in his northwest Indiana district last year after a six-point win in 2022. Republicans are also eying splitting up the city of Indianapolis to force out Democratic Rep. Andre Carson, who won a ninth term last year by a 39-point landslide.  Supporters of redistricting have not revealed the specifics of their preferred new map.

In addition to redistricting, Braun’s call for a special session asks the General Assembly to pass legislation aligning Indiana’s tax code with federal changes made this year. Such bills are needed nearly every year and are normally handled in the regular session. In 2018, legislators failed to pass the bill before their adjournment deadline, prompting Gov. Eric Holcomb to call a special session to get the bill through.

While Braun can announce the topics he wants the special session to focus on, any legislator can file bills on any subject, and legislative leaders determine which will be heard and when. Either chamber could short-circuit redistricting by convening the special session and immediately adjourning it. 

After Organization Day, the General Assembly normally goes into recess until January. Candidate filing is scheduled to begin Jan. 7.