Long Beach Election Controversy Raises Questions About Town Council Terms and Who Gets to Vote

Are you joking...Blue Town in Indiana showing its incompetence.

Hoosier Enquirer | October 9, 2026

LONG BEACH, Ind. — Along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, a small Indiana resort town with deep Chicago connections is confronting questions about its election procedures, the continuity of local government and the distinction between owning a summer home and establishing legal residency.

Long Beach was the hometown of SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts.

Long Beach, a community of approximately 1.6 square miles in LaPorte County, was established in 1921 as a summer retreat for Chicago-area families. Generations of Illinois residents have purchased lakefront homes, vacation properties and retirement residences in the community. Some have made Indiana their permanent home, while others maintain their principal residences across the state line.

Locals sometimes refer to these Illinois transplants and visitors as FIPs, an irreverent regional nickname for people from Illinois. The label reflects a longstanding cultural distinction between year-round Hoosiers and Chicago-area vacation homeowners, although neither property ownership nor a former Illinois address establishes anyone's political affiliation.

Now the town's election arrangements have become a matter deserving closer scrutiny.

Five Council Seats, but Only Three Scheduled for 2026

Long Beach's municipal code is unusually clear about the composition of its governing body and the election schedule intended to preserve continuity.

Under Section 30.04(C), the town has a five-member council, with three members scheduled for election in November 2026 and two in November 2028. The staggered arrangement was established through Ordinance 2022-03, adopted April 11, 2022.

The purpose is straightforward: experienced members remain in office while new members join the council, reducing the possibility that an entire governing body will be replaced in a single election.

Yet concerns have been raised that all five council positions may have been placed on the 2026 ballot, rather than the three contemplated by the ordinance. If confirmed, that discrepancy would require an explanation from the officials responsible for preparing and certifying the election.

The critical distinction is that the ordinance is verified, but an erroneous 2026 ballot and responsibility for any error have not yet been independently established. The available records do not support assigning blame to the clerk-treasurer without examining the actual ballot, candidate filings and county election records.

There is an additional complication. LaPorte County's official 2024 candidate list identified five Long Beach council seats on that year's ballot, with five independent candidates listed. That earlier election must be reconciled with the town's staggered-term provisions before anyone can determine whether the 2026 election has been improperly structured.

LaPorte County Government

The Ordinance Explains Why All Five Seats Appeared in 2024

A closer examination of the original 2022 ordinance resolves the apparent contradiction involving the previous election.

The ordinance expressly required all five council positions to be filled in November 2024. The two candidates receiving the highest vote totals were to serve four-year terms, while the remaining three were to serve two-year terms. That arrangement was designed to establish the staggered cycle beginning in 2026.

Consequently, the proper sequence is:

Election	Council seats	Terms
November 2024	5	Two four-year, three two-year
November 2026	3	Four years
November 2028	2	Four years
November 2030	3	Four years

This makes the allegation concerning the 2026 ballot particularly important. If all five seats have again been designated for election without lawful justification, the problem cannot be dismissed as a harmless misunderstanding of the original ordinance.

The current council consists of President Joy Schmitt, Vice President Anita Remijas, Kendra Bartlett, Cindy Levy and Colleen Lane. Meg Collins serves as clerk-treasurer. The town's published records establish their positions but do not establish that Collins personally caused any alleged ballot discrepancy.

Illinois Property Owners and the Residency Question

The election controversy also brings attention to a separate issue: whether seasonal property owners understand Indiana's voter residency requirements.

Indiana law does not confer voting rights merely because someone owns a house, pays property taxes or spends summers in the state. The Indiana Secretary of State explains that voting eligibility requires Indiana residency and proper registration. State law defines residence in terms of a person's true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment, together with the intention of returning there when absent.

A Chicago resident who maintains an Illinois domicile cannot claim the right to vote in Long Beach simply by owning a vacation property. Conversely, a former Illinois resident who genuinely establishes a permanent Indiana residence may register and vote in Indiana when otherwise eligible.

The distinction is legal residency, not whether a person is a newcomer, a Republican, a Democrat or an Illinois transplant. There is presently no verified evidence in the records reviewed that seasonal Long Beach property owners have illegally voted in Indiana elections.

For a small town, however, confidence in residency rules and election administration matters. Even a relatively small number of improperly registered voters could become consequential in a closely contested municipal race, although that possibility is not evidence that improper voting has occurred.

A Small Town Faces a Test of Election Administration

Long Beach's political history has inspired local stories about the days when its Democratic caucus supposedly could have fit inside a telephone booth. That anecdote remains unverified, but it captures the image of a once-small political establishment in a community that has long attracted Chicago-area families.

The more immediate issue is whether town and county officials are following the election procedures already established by law.

The LaPorte County election authorities should be able to establish which three council positions expire at the end of 2026, whether the November ballot accurately reflects those vacancies, and whether any correction or formal election-board action is required. Officials should also explain the respective responsibilities of the town clerk-treasurer and county election administrators in preparing the ballot.

The governing ordinance, the 2024 candidate list and the town's current roster provide a substantial documentary starting point. What remains missing is a verified copy of the contested 2026 ballot or an official election-board determination concerning the alleged discrepancy.

Long Beach residents deserve that clarification before the November 3 election, not afterward.

For a community that prizes its Lake Michigan shoreline, residential character and independence, the principle should be simple: property ownership does not substitute for voter residency, and election officials must follow the law governing the terms of public office.

Whether Long Beach's current controversy reflects an actual ballot error or a misunderstanding of the election process is a question that should be resolved through public records, not political assumptions.

Research status, October 9, 2026: The staggered-term ordinance is confirmed. I could not independently confirm that five seats appear on the final 2026 ballot, that Meg Collins made an error, or that Illinois residents have voted unlawfully.

The two most important primary sources are the original staggered-election ordinance and the 2024 LaPorte County candidate list.

The Friendly Illinois People or FIPS always said "Vote early and often." but not 2 years early!