State Rep. Tim O’Brien (R-Evansville), a member of the House Elections and Apportionment Committee, reminds local Hoosiers to join a public meeting Saturday in Evansville to provide feedback on Indiana’s redistricting process.
“We want a transparent and open process which fulfills all of our constitutional and statutory obligations to the letter of the law,” O’Brien said. “Public input is vital and I encourage Hoosiers to attend a redistricting meeting to learn more and share their thoughts.”
He said the Evansville meeting will be from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, at The Commons on Ivy Tech’s campus located at 3501 N. First Ave. A complete schedule, a campus map, live and archived videos of the meeting can be found at iga.in.gov/redistricting.
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 are grouped into geographic areas, including north, south and central.
At the meeting, the chairperson will give opening remarks before moving to public testimony. Members of the public will be asked to sign up at each meeting if they plan to comment. The public is encouraged to submit written testimony by emailing State Sen. Jon Ford (R-Terre Haute), chair of the Senate Committee on Elections, at s38@iga.in.gov or State Rep. Tim Wesco (R-Osceola), chair of the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment, at h21@iga.in.gov.
 Census data is delayed due to the pandemic, but is expected to arrive on Aug. 16. An online portal with mapping software is expected to be launched in late August that will allow the public to draw and submit their own maps for consideration.
O’Brien also said constituents can contact him anytime about this issue or others by calling 317-232-9815 or emailing h78@iga.in.gov.
