“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
I wanted to give you just some basic voting data for Indiana leading into the 2024 General Election. I focused on general elections in presidential years only. I compiled data for 2012, 2016, and 2020.
First, let’s take a look at total registered voters vs actual voter turnout over the past three presidential election cycles.
This is, actually, the most interesting set of data, in my opinion.
In 2012, the population of the Hoosier state was around 6,538,989 people. In 2020, the population was around 6,789,098 people. That’s a population increase of 3.82%. Yet, the number of registered voters increased by 4.31% between 2012 and 2020 with a decrease of 1.61% between 2016 and 2020. There has been a prolonged battle to cure Indiana’s voter rolls by purging registered voters who are no longer legal voters for various reasons.
There have been various attempts to smear Indiana’s attempts to ensure registered voters are, actually, legal voters. The media reported that between 2012 and 2014, Indiana removed 22.4% of its voting population. Yet, the number of registered voters from 2012 to 2016 increased over 6%. For the years in question, where Indiana allegedly removed over 22% of voters, the number of registered voters actually increased 0.83%. Indiana’s attempts to ensure voting integrity have been fought every step of the way by activists.
In 2020, the Center For Public Integrity alleged that “Indiana has made it harder for people to vote.” Well, if that’s the case, why are more people voting? Turnout has continually increased for the main elections. No, looking at primaries and municipal elections where there’s general apathy doesn’t count.
Now onto how voters vote …
As you can see in the chart, since 2012, total voter turnout for presidential year general elections have increased. Hard to do in a state where the liberal activists say Indiana is making it “harder for people to vote.”
Another statistic we see is the ever-decreasing number of people who vote in person and the increasing number who vote absentee. We had COVID in 2020 but the numbers were moving away from voting in person to absentee long before COVID.
The numbers are somewhat staggering.
Absentee voting from 2012 to 2020 increased by over 216%. While in-person voting decreased by over 42%.
Since 2012, Republican presidential candidates have received higher percentages of votes than Democrats. Part of that could be the Mike Pence factor as the Vice Presidential candidate.
Indiana doesn’t register voters by party affiliation so getting unbiased numbers is difficult. So trends in that regard are hard to see.
More people are moving to Indiana than away from it. Many are from blue states. Republicans would like you to believe they are mostly Republicans fleeing Democrat policies, but Indiana doesn’t have a reputation as a refuge for conservatives. Texas and Florida do, but Indiana does not.
2024 will be an interesting year to evaluate for years to come. The unique circumstances surrounding Trump/Biden 2.0 could provide for temporary anomalies in election patterns or could completely reset the electorate in a way previously unimaginable.
A few years ago, Senator Mike Braun was finding himself in hot water over his support of Black Lives Matter, a racist extremist organization, while criticizing law enforcement.
He appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show to respond to a segment Carlson had done about him. This was when Tucker Carlson was still on Fox News.
More than two years after Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by Atlanta police, the case against the two officers involved has been dropped.
The special prosecutor announced Tuesday afternoon that he would not pursue charges against the officers. Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, shared the decision during an afternoon news conference.
Rayshard Brooks was drunk, resisted arrest, and took the officer’s Taser and used it against the officer. The use of lethal force by police was justified by any objective observation.
In his current gubernatorial run in Indiana, Braun has received the endorsement of the Indiana State Police Alliance.
The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) gave Braun a 100% rating. Mike Braun steadily increased his NAPO rating from 2019, where he earned a mere 33%. Braun got a 60% in 2020 but has maintained a 100% rating since then.
Braun said that if a violent crime is committed, an individual assaults a law enforcement officer or distributes drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, they will “face the full weight of Indiana’s justice system.”
Standing with law enforcement
Braun said he would propose “significant salary increases and advanced training opportunities” for law enforcement, “ensuring that… officers have the resources and backing they need to perform their duties…”
Braun said he would also “champion policies” that enhance the recruitment and retention of officers, as well as improve training and support their well-being.
Interestingly enough, his plan also includes protections of qualified immunity.
Protect qualified immunity
Braun said qualified immunity is a “crucial legal doctrine” which protects officers from personal liability while they perform their duties. Braun said his commitment is to provide officers “with the confidence and legal safeguards they need to make decisions in the best interest of public safety.”