Common Cause Indiana and the League of Women Voters of LaPorte County will host a public webinar on May 21, from 7 to 8 p.m. central time to allow LaPorte citizens to learn how to directly submit new city council maps to their City Council.

The public can access the webinar on May 21 at this link.

Earlier this month, the LaPorte City Council announced they would be redistricting their City Council district maps.  While most cities in Indiana drew new districts in 2022, based on 2020 census data as required by state law, LaPorte and several other local governments failed to do so.  The Indiana General Assembly passed a 2024 law requiring all local governments to draw new maps by June 30, 2025.

The Council hired former Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma and his Indianapolis law firm Kroger, Gardis and Regas to draw new districts. However, after former LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris and Common Cause Indiana Executive Director Julia Vaughn urged them to do so, the Council also agreed to consider maps submitted by the public. 

To help the public participate in this important process that provides the basic building blocks for city council elections, Common Cause Indiana and the League of Women Voters of LaPorte County are hosting a redistricting and public mapping webinar on Wednesday, May 21 from 7 – 8 p.m. CDT on Zoom.  During the webinar, presenters will demonstrate public mapping software and share instructions on how to use it to provide input to the LaPorte City Council during the redistricting process. 

“We are excited to have this opportunity to help LaPorte residents play a meaningful role in the city council redistricting process,” said Julia Vaughn, Executive Director of Common Cause Indiana.  “Too many local governments conduct this process completely behind closed doors, with little to no opportunity for the public to have any real say in what the new council districts will look like.  We commend the leadership in LaPorte for their decision to seek public input into redistricting and we encourage interested citizens to participate.  The way to get started is to attend the webinar on May 21st, where we’ll give you all the tools you’ll need.” 

WHAT: Public training and input on new LaPorta City Council districts

WHO: Anyone

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21 at 7 pm central time

WHERE: Access the zoom link here