What are third house forums? Groups say face-to-face events help voters connect to lawmakers

The Trump administration's cuts to federal spending have spurred some heated town hall meetings in the U.S. So much so that U.S. House Republican Party leadership even encouraged Republicans not to attend in-person events with their constituents.

An audience member in Jefferson County wanted to know more about what are called “third house forums” and how to host one.

Third house forums are public events where Hoosiers can meet with their representatives. For state lawmakers, those usually take place during the legislative session from January through March or April.

Anyone can host one of these — but some of the groups that usually do are the League of Women Voters, public libraries, farm bureaus and chambers of commerce.

Kit Malone is a political strategist working with Indiana Conservation Voters — which is tracking third house forums across Indiana.

“They're a very easy way for constituents to meet and start a relationship with their lawmaker. And there's just not a lot of opportunities like that anywhere else," she said.

Linda Hanson is the president of the League of Women Voters of Indiana and serves as the local Muncie chapter’s spokesperson. She said fewer Republican lawmakers attend the league’s events these days — at least in some areas of the state like Muncie.

Hanson said her local league used to partner with the area’s chamber of commerce, but the chamber started charging people for a meal — which means some constituents couldn’t afford to go.

“Then they further restricted it, said you gotta be a member to come. So all the legislators go to that, but if the league does one — none of the Republicans come," she said.

Hanson said that’s a disservice to voters.

Access to forums may increase their popularity

Because anyone can host a third house forum, it's hard to say how many are taking place. Anecdotally, Hanson said she thinks they're becoming more popular.

Malone said video conferencing apps have likely helped more people access these meetings.

"There are a lot of advantages, especially if you are small or a rural district, to being able to offer the ability for folks to just drop in on to a Zoom or another form of video meeting as opposed to having to drive to a centralized location to do it. So we're seeing more of that," Malone said.

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Of course, not everyone has internet access. Hanson said it's also harder to connect with your lawmakers on Zoom, which could be a disadvantage for constituents.

Daniela Castellanos, Indiana Conservation Voters community organizer, said the group is working to put out information in Spanish to help Latinos in Indiana better access these third house forums as well.

"Some of them don't even know that those resources are available, and that they can come to their home district and try to voice their concerns. Or try to let them know, hey, this is our priority, these are our needs," she said.

Hanson suggests Hoosiers who want to hold a third house forum consider partnering with organizations in their area or even in counties nearby.

Indiana Conservation Voters encourages anyone hosting a third house forum in Indiana to contact them so it can be added to their map.
 

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.