April 19, 2021
Frank O’Bannon is one of the most successful political figures in Indiana history. On this week’s “Leaders and Legends” podcast, we are joined by Mary Dieter, Robin Winston, and John Gregg to discuss the governor’s legacy, his governing style, and his tragic passing. We are also joined by political reporter emeritus Jim Shella as co-host.
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Jim Shella: There’s no crisis; elections are secure
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There are lots of lessons to be learned from the 2020 presidential election, and some of them are not yet apparent.
One that I would like to point out is, there is no such thing as a national election. At the risk of sounding like Donald Trump, many people believe elections are run out of Washington, D.C., with federal oversight. The reality is, elections are run by the states, and what happens in one state can be very different from what happens in the next state.
In fact, elections are not administered at the state level but at the county level. That means that, in Indiana, 92 elections are being conducted on the same day. Voting hours are uniform statewide, but there are lots of variables from county to county. Each county issues its own contracts with voting-machine vendors, for example. So, when Marion County was still using lever machines, some counties were already using computer devices, others punch c
By Erica Quinlan
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McDaniel
INDIANAPOLIS â When asked whoâs in, whoâs out and whoâs got clout in Indiana politics after the November elections, Mike McDaniel didnât hesitate with his answer.
Republicans are in, Democrats are out and Republicans have clout in the state, said McDaniel, executive director of governmental affairs at Krieg DeVault LLP, at the Indiana Farm Bureau Virtual State Convention.
âA couple facts about the Indiana Democrats,â he said. âTheyâve lost every statewide race since 2014. They control two out of 11 federal offices in Indiana â two members of Congress.
âTheyâre a super-minority in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly by wide margins. Now they have about a third of the mayorâs office in all of Indiana.â