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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana’s cities and towns would have the option of moving their elections to even-numbered years under a bill advancing in the Legislature.
A House committee’s endorsement Wednesday of the optional proposal comes after a failed attempt last year to shift the next round of municipal elections — now set for 2027— to presidential election years starting in 2028.
The House elections committee delayed taking action on another bill that would require most counties to draw county commissioner districts so that they have roughly equal populations.
Moving municipal elections
Supporters of last year’s effort to change the city and town election years argued the shift could increase voter turnout and decrease costs by pairing municipal races with federal and state contests.
Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, R-Shelbyville, raised those considerations in presenting House Bill 1055 to the committee but emphasized moving municipal elections would be a local decision.
“Only having an election once every other year instead of three out of every four, might be the right thing for your community,” Meltzer said. “So leaving all of that up to the local elected officials to make their own decisions and determine what is best for them, not forcing them to move their elections.”
Committee member Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, cited concerns about local issues “getting lost in the noise” of federal and state campaigns if city elections are moved.
A study led by the Indiana secretary of state’s office last year concluded that moving the municipal elections would lead to a boost in voter turnout that would “more than mak(e) up for” votes lost through “ballot fatigue.” That’s when voters lose interest in lengthy lists of choices.
Indiana’s cities and towns organization expressed opposition to the bill, although the group’s lobbyist said some municipal leaders support the move.
Amy Krieg, the government affairs director for Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, said the group worried about a diminished focus on local issues if the elections for mayors and other city offices were shifted.
“When those elections are moved to even numbered years, the conversation always, or typically, turns into the national hot topics,” Krieg said.
Committee members voted 9-3 to advance the bill to the full House for consideration.
County commissioner districts
The committee put off any action on House Bill 1342 that would require most counties to draw residency districts for their three county commissioners so that they “contain, as nearly as is possible, equal population.”
Bill author Rep. Tim Yocum, R-Clinton and a former Vermillion County commissioner, said that in some counties “the balance is totally out of whack and it needs to be in some way justified.”
Supporters of the bill testified about situations in Clay and Knox counties where one commissioner district has more than 17,000 residents and the other two have fewer than 5,000 residents.
Bill opponents argued that such variations don’t violate “one man, one vote” standards because while commissioner candidates must live in their districts, those positions are elected on a countywide ballot.
The bill would apply to all counties with a board of commissioners, except Lake and St. Joseph counties that currently elect commissioners by district rather than countywide.
Tyler Warman, executive director of the Indiana County Commissioners organization, argued that rural residents “would lose their voice in county government” if commissioner districts were based on population alone.
“For example, Johnson County has a northern urban district, a suburban central district and a rural southern district. Many counties have a similar map,” Warman said. “… It allows for representation from each part of the county. If population alone dictates these districts, one city could hold all seats on the board of commissioners.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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