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Municipal election turnout highlights continued woes
Voters just finished nominating Republicans and Democrats for municipal elections in November and voting on referenda. Turnout was low. In Allen County, the turnout was about 10%. DeKalb County was the turnout bright spot of northeast Indiana at about 19%. This is not unique to northeast Indiana. Marion County’s turnout was less than 13%. Saint […]
Aiming for deliberation, civility at end of the session
Recently, I talked with a couple of professionals who watch the General Assembly very carefully and both commented the session is running smoothly, at least by some standards. They both cited the limited number of times the legislators have worked late into the night as an example. The legislators are to be commended for their […]
Ready, Set, Legislate
Legislators are sworn in. They elected leaders and received committee assignments. Bills are now public. Now, it is time for us to put our focus on the work of the Indiana General Assembly. The legislature meets for two years at a time. The first year (odd-numbered years) is referred to as the First Regular Session […]
What it’s really like administering an election
I helped put on elections in Allen County for nearly two decades, with 2010 being the last year I played a significant role. The most important part of administering an election back then was the people and that remains true today. There were more than 130 polling locations in Allen County and 700 people working […]
What voting in Kansas and New York mean for Indiana
When I taught introductory courses on American politics, one of the things I covered was the fact that the political party in the White House almost always loses seats in the House and/or Senate in the midterm election. This is not particularly controversial since it has happened in every midterm election since 1862, except 1902, […]