Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita will speak on redistricting at Indiana State University Wednesday, March 3 at 4 p.m.

Rokita will be explaining and advocating his "Rethinking Rediscricting" initiative, which focuses on creating more compact and geographically uniform districts, keeping communities of interest together and reducing voters' confusion regarding who represents them by using preexisting political boundaries such as township or county lines.

"This visit...will give the university community an opportunity to speak directly with a state-wide elected official," said Matt Huckleby, a senior political science and economics major from Georgetown, Ind. "It is not every day that a student can have the opportunity to see, much less engage in conversation with, a government official, specifically on a topic as important as redistricting reform."

Redistricting reform is not often highlighted in the media, but the way districts are set up impacts the government in big ways, Huckleby said. Smaller districts allow representatives to stay in touch with the voting members of those districts.

The event, hosted by the ISU College Republicans, College Democrats, Pi Sigma Alpha, Pre-law Association, the political science department, and the Cunningham Memorial Library, will take place in the Library Events Area.

Huckleby, and the other students organizing the event, want to encourage student involvement in politics and are excited about Rokita's upcoming visit to campus.

"Many ISU students believe that a robust political environment, regardless of party affiliation, will make this campus a better place, and events like this will create such an environment," Huckleby said.

For more information about Rokita's "Redistricting Reform" initiative, visit http://www.rethinkingredistricting.com/.

Writer: Lana Schrock, media relations assistant, Indiana State University, at 812-3-237-3773 or lschrock1@indstate.edu