Legislators invite public to statewide redistricting meetings Aug. 6-7, Aug. 11s Aug. 6-7, Aug. 11

Indiana is required to redraw its districts for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana Senate following the nationwide census every 10 years.

(File Photo)

STATEHOUSE (July 22, 2021) – Hoosiers are invited to attend one or more of a series of public meetings across the state on Aug. 6-7 and Aug. 11 to provide feedback on Indiana's redistricting process.

Indiana is required to redraw its districts for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana Senate following the nationwide census every 10 years. Before legislators are expected to return to the Statehouse in mid-to-late September to redraw the district boundaries, public meetings will be held in each of Indiana's nine congressional districts. The meetings will be grouped into geographic areas, including north, south and central.

The northern group meetings will be in Lafayette and Valparaiso on Friday, Aug. 6 and in Fort Wayne and Elkhart on Saturday, Aug. 7. In addition, the southern group will host meetings in Anderson and Columbus on Friday, Aug. 6 and Evansville and Sellersburg on Saturday, Aug. 7. The central meeting will held in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 11

State Rep. Tim Wesco (R-Osceola), chair of the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment, will chair the redistricting meetings in the north, and State Sen. Jon Ford (R-Terre Haute), chair of the Senate Committee on Elections, will chair the meetings in the south. Wesco and Ford are expected to co-chair the central Indiana meeting.

"We look forward to hosting these important meetings across the state to hear directly from the public on Indiana's redistricting process," Wesco said. "Hoosiers can be confident that we'll continue to meet all of our statutory and constitutional requirements."

"Public input on redistricting is extremely important to the map-drawing process," Ford said. "We look forward to hearing from Hoosiers from all over Indiana during these meetings."

Below is the complete schedule of public meetings regarding redistricting:

• North – Friday, Aug. 6 and Saturday, Aug. 7 at the following Ivy Tech campuses:
  Lafayette | 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 6
  Valparaiso | 3-5 p.m. CDT Friday, Aug. 6
  Fort Wayne | 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 7
  Elkhart | 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7
• South – Friday, Aug. 6 and Saturday, Aug. 7 at the following Ivy Tech campuses:
  Anderson | 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 6
  Columbus | 4-6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6
  Evansville | 9-11 a.m. CDT Saturday, Aug. 7
  Sellersburg | 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7

• Central – Wednesday, Aug. 11 at the Statehouse

Indianapolis | 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11 in the House Chamber at the Indiana Statehouse

Campus meeting room information will be updated as it's available on the Indiana General Assembly's website at iga.in.gov. Meetings will be livestreamed and archived at iga.in.gov.

Census data is delayed due to the pandemic, but is expected to arrive on Aug. 16. Wesco and Ford said an online portal with mapping software will be launched in late August that will allow the public to draw and submit their own maps for consideration.