Nonpartisan group launches redistricting education, listening sessions across Indiana

Community members from Morgan County gathered Thursday night for an educational listening session on redistricting as Indiana lawmakers prepare for a special session to draw new maps. It is the first of three hosted by the nonpartisan group ReCenter Indiana.

Laura Merrifield Wilson is a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis. She presented on redistricting, gerrymandering and the current pressure from the Trump administration to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Members of the audience asked questions about everything from ballot initiatives to judicial precedent on mid-cycle redistricting — including the potential consequences if Republicans have enough votes to pass new maps.

"For Republican legislators who oppose redistricting, I would expect to see a challenger that will fight them on that," Wilson said.

Two lawmakers, including Rep. Peggy Mayfield (R-Martinsville), attended the listening session. Mayfield thanked the audience and asked Wilson her own question — is mid-cycle redistricting legal?

"That is the million-dollar question. And I always want to start any legal question by saying, I'm not actually a lawyer," Wilson said. "But I think there will certainly be challenges."

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Ashlie Kehrberg attended the event. She's from Unionville and said she wanted to learn more about the current push.

"I would like people to realize, that when you come to these — every day there's something you could learn. There's people in this room who were 60-, 70-years-old. They didn't know," Kehrberg said. "And that's important."

Gov. Mike Braun called the legislature to a special session earlier this week. They have 40 days from Nov. 7 to start and finish.

ReCenter Indiana is hosting two more listening sessions across the state.

• Beech Grove
  Hornet Park Community Center
  5245 Hornet Ave., Beech Grove, IN 46107
• Fishers
  Geist Christian Church
  12756 Promise Road, Fishers, IN 46038

Lauren is our digital editor. Contact her at lauren@ipbnews.org or follow her on Bluesky at @laurenechapman.bsky.social.