| An update for League friends and subscribers. | | | | Good News! Mid-cycle Redistricting Fails in Indiana Legislature | | Common Cause Director Julia Vaughn predicted it at our League’s social gathering on December 9, and on the 11th the Indiana Senate defeated House Bill 1032, which would have changed the maps for Indiana’s congressional districts. The vote was 19 in favor, 31 opposed (including 21 Republicans), considerably more opposition than Vaughn had anticipated. Last week, the Indiana House approved the bill, with 12 Republicans voting against it. Here’s how legislators for Monroe County voted: In favor: Representative Bob Heaton; opposed: Representatives Dave Hall, Peggy Mayfield, and Matt Pierce and Senator Shelli Yoder. Indiana becomes the first state legislature led by Republicans to vote against President Trump’s efforts to increase the number of Congressional districts leaning Republican. - Ralf Shaw | | Updates Scheduled for 2026 State Legislative Session | The 2026 legislative “short session” reconvenes on January 5. Our League and those for Johnson and Brown (also serving Bartholomew) counties have invited legislators representing all four counties at the Statehouse to report on and discuss activities through the session. Please encourage your legislators to attend! Not sure who they are? Go to https://iga.in.gov/information/find-legislators. The updates are better when they include the perspectives of all our legislators.
The Legislative Updates will be via Zoom on three Saturdays:
January 10, 9:30-11:00, shortly after the deadline to file bills
January 31, 9:30-11:00, after bills that pass in the house of origin move to the other chamber
March 7, 9:00-10:30, after the session concludes
Note the early start time for the March Update, to accommodate legislators’ schedules. You can register for these Legislative Updates and see the CATS recordings of last year’s meetings at https://lwv-bmc.org/legis-updates. - Ralf Shaw
| | Members: League Day at the Statehouse Coming Up! | | All League members are invited to League Day at the Statehouse, Wednesday, January 28, 10 am - 3 pm. The registration desk opens at 9:30 am. The event is a chance to meet with legislators and to learn about critical issues from experts and other Leagues. Registration is required; please register online here. Contact Ralf Shaw (league@lwv-bmc.org) if you’d like to share rides or if you have questions. - Ralf Shaw | | League Gathering Features Julia Vaughn of Common Cause | On December 9, 2025, LWV-BMC held its winter gathering at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Heritage Hall with twenty-three people in attendance. Social time and light refreshments were followed by a presentation by our guest speaker, Julia Vaughn.
Julia Vaughn is the executive director of Common Cause Indiana. Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. Based in Washington DC, the group was founded in 1970 and works to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest. It also promotes equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empowers all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
Julia discussed the Indiana Legislature’s special session for redistricting and said that the final Senate vote was scheduled for December 11 at 1:30 pm. She said that several Indiana legislators had received a lot of pressure (swatting, death threats, bomb threats, etc.) because they were leaning towards voting against redistricting. Tens of thousands of Hoosiers would be affected by this new map if the bill passes. It would separate Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties (Chicago suburbs) and was “clearly drawn to maximize Republican performance.” Marion County would also be drastically affected. President Trump and Indiana Governor Braun are strongly in support of this bill. Democrats and many Republican senators oppose this bill and have indicated they will vote against it. Julia said she believes many legislators have been moved by the amount of concern and pressure by constituents and therefore that there is a very good chance that this bill will be voted down. (Ed. Note: The bill was indeed defeated on December 11.) - Nancy Riggert | | Opposing Expansion of Personal Data in SAVE Database | The LWV-BMC Leadership Team added our support to the national League’s challenge of federal government changes to the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database. The Social Security Administration (SSA) proposes dramatically expanding its sharing of personal data with the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE. The expansion would feed even more Social Security records into a system already being used by ICE to target immigrant communities.
This change would expose millions of people to greater risk of data breaches and personal-data misuse by ICE, while increasing the likelihood that even legal immigrants and U.S. citizens will be wrongly flagged, monitored, or targeted for voter purges. It would also undermine trust in the SSA to safeguard personal information for administering benefits; this is especially harmful for immigrant and mixed-status families.
LWVIN President Linda Hanson noted the civil rights, privacy, and due process issues of concern. She wrote, “our Secretary of State is already taking advantage of the flawed SAVE system, I would urge you to sign your local league on to the LWV statement.” - Ralf Shaw | Contacts, Events, and News Sources
| | Many citizens feel they have no say in their government. We can't have a say if we don't say anything. Contact your elected officials when you have something to say. Go to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials to find the people who represent you in federal, state, and local governments. Contact them not only to urge action but also to show appreciation. | | Public Meetings and Events
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