Indiana

Absentee voting kicks off in Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont

Published

1 year ago

September 21, 2024

Absentee voting kicks off in Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont

Election season is ramping up, with absentee voting beginning Saturday in seven more states – Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont.

That means voting is now underway in over a dozen states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Virginia. States starting their early voting Saturday are not competitive at the presidential level, but there are two competitive House races among them:

Indiana’s 1st Congressional District: Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan easily won his first election here in 2020, but redistricting kept his 2022 win under 6 points. This year, he faces Republican local councilman Randy Niemeyer. This northwestern district includes Lake and Porter, two of the most competitive counties in the state. The race is ranked Lean D on the Fox News Power Rankings.
New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District: Republicans flipped New Jersey’s 7th district in 2022, but it was close. Incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. won by just shy of 3 points. He faces teacher and Democrat Sue Altman this year in a district that includes Bedminster plus Somerset and Union counties. This race is Lean R on the Power Rankings.

How to vote in Delaware

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Delaware.

Voting by mail

Absentee voting is kicking off Saturday in Delaware, The Associated Press reports. Absentee ballots are available to all voters in the state of Delaware. Absentee ballots must be received by the Department of Elections Office of the voter’s county by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Early in-person voting

Early in-person voting is available at designated sites in each county from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3.

Voter registration

Delaware residents can register to vote via writing, in-person, or through the state government’s online portal. The voter registration deadline is the 4th Saturday before the election.

FILE – A woman walks to cast her ballot after filling it in a privacy booth while voting in the gubernatorial election in Newark, New Jersey, Nov. 2, 2021. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

How to vote in Indiana

Voting by mail

Indiana is beginning to send out absentee ballots to voters who have applied Saturday. To vote absentee by mail, the application must be received 12 days before Election Day by 11:59 p.m.

Individuals who intend to cast absentee ballots by mail must have a reason to request a vote-by-mail ballot. These reasons include disability, reasonable expectation for absence from the county, work obligations and more.

All senior citizens 65 years of age and older qualify for absentee vote-by-mail ballots.

Early in-person voting

In-person absentee voting is available to all for 28 days before the election, ending at noon on the day before Election Day. Additionally, in-person absentee voting is available on the two Saturdays immediately preceding the election.

Voter registration

Voter registration forms must be completed and returned to county registration offices on or before Oct. 7.

FILE – A voter fills out his ballot during early voting at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oct. 30, 2020. (REUTERS/Nick Oxford)

How to vote in New Jersey

Voting by mail

Mail-in voting begins on Sept. 21 as ballots are mailed to voters who have applied with their county clerk.

Voters can cast ballots by mail if postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots must be received by the county Board of Elections on or before the sixth day after the polls close.

Early in-person voting

Voters will be able to cast an early ballot in-person from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3.

Voter registration

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 15.

How to vote in Oklahoma

Voting by mail

Any registered voter in Oklahoma is allowed to request an absentee ballot, until the deadline of Oct. 21.

Absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on the third Monday preceding the election (15 days).

Early in-person voting

Early voting is available to all Oklahoma voters and no excuse is needed. Voters can cast their ballots early from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

Voter registration

The voter registration is Oct. 11. Voters are able to register online, by mail, or in-person.

FILE – A voter fills out her ballot during early voting at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oct. 30, 2020. (REUTERS/Nick Oxford)

How to vote in Rhode Island

Voting by mail

Rhode Island voters who cannot or prefer not to cast their ballot at the polls on Election Day are allowed to vote by mail. Mail-in ballots can be requested online or via writing. Mail ballots must arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Early in-person voting

Rhode Island voters can cast early ballots in-person during the 20 days leading up to Election Day, Oct. 16 to Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Voters must be registered 30 days before the election to cast their ballots in Rhode Island.

Same day registration is available, but such voters will only be able to cast ballots for president and vice-president, not down-ballot candidates.

How to vote in Tennessee

Voting by mail

Absentee ballots begin to be mailed in Tennessee by Sept. 21, according to the AP. To vote absentee in Tennessee requires an excuse.

Early in-person voting

In-person early voting runs from Oct. 16 to Oct. 31.

Voter registration

The deadline for voter registration in Tennessee is Oct. 7.

How to vote in Vermont

Voting by mail

Absentee ballots begin to be sent to military and overseas voters on Sept. 21. Mailing of ballots to all active voters begins Sept. 23.

Early voters can apply for an early voter absentee ballot by telephone, in-person or in writing. Authorized family members may also apply on an individual’s behalf.

Early in-person voting

Early voter absentee ballots must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Nov. 4.

Voter registration

Individuals in Vermont can register online, via paper application or at their local clerk’s office.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com

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Indiana

Our childhoods were awesome. Let’s legalize kids playing outside. | Opinion

Published

4 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Our childhoods were awesome. Let’s legalize kids playing outside. | Opinion

We loved our free-range childhoods. Now we’re fighting to make sure Hoosier parents won’t get arrested for giving their kids the same freedom.

Jake Teshka and Victoria Garcia Wilburn
| Opinion Contributors

It’s tempting to think Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything these days, but the two of us wholeheartedly agree on this:

Our childhoods were awesome.

In fact, we loved our childhoods so much, we are co-sponsoring a bill that would ensure Indiana parents can let their kids enjoy their childhoods just as much. Under our bill, parents can let their kids play outside, walk to the store, romp in the woods and stomp in the rain without worrying that this wonderful independence could be mistaken for neglect.

The so-called “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill has been passed in 11 states so far — red, blue, and purple. It is not a free pass for abusive parents. It is reassurance for all decent Hoosiers that they don’t have to worry about being investigated or arrested for giving their kids some unsupervised time.

House Bill 1035 simply says that “neglect” is when you put your child in obvious and serious danger — not anytime you take your eyes off them. This helps parents who want to give their kids a longer leash. And it helps parents in poverty who have little choice but to do so — for instance, a single mom working two jobs who lets her kid come home with a latchkey.

It also helps all the parents desperate to get their kids off screens: You take away the phone — and open the door.

Our own childhoods were as outdoors and free range as they come. Jake grew up in Michiana, running around, looking for trees to build tree houses in. Other times he’d jump on his bike and go to the ballpark with friends, or go get a burger or even, yes, some Big League Chew.

Victoria biked all over the place, too — after telling her parents where she was heading. (No cell phones back then.) There was a hill everyone loved to ride down and a 7-Eleven where she’d go with her friends for lunch, which consisted of … a Slurpee. Yes, your elected representatives made some slightly suboptimal choices as kids. That’s part of growing up. It was a magical time.

It was also foundational. Jake works in commercial construction when he’s not legislating. He credits the give-and-take of those unsupervised ballgames with building the client skills he uses to this day. (And maybe the tree houses launched his career in construction.)

Victoria went on to become an associate professor and program director in occupational therapy at Indiana University. Working with young kids, she has seen the slow decline in developmental milestones as the run-around childhood got replaced by a sedentary, screen-based one.

That’s another reason we are so keen to pass this bill. Autonomy isn’t something “nice” to have. It is crucial. We all know about the youth mental health crisis. Let’s make it at least as easy for kids to go outside as it is for them to go online.

Some people may think the reason a supervised, structured childhood has become so normal is because the crime rate is so high. But the murder rate today is lower than it was in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

The Reasonable Childhood Independence bill allows parents to decide for themselves when their kids are ready to do some things on their own.

“As parents, you have a good understanding of where your children are on their level of responsibility,” says Rep. Ryan Lauer, Vice Chair of the House Family and Children Committee, who is also co-sponsoring this bill.

And yet we’ve all heard the stories of decent parents being investigated simply because they didn’t hover — like that mom in Georgia, Brittany Patterson, arrested in 2024 because her 10-year-old walked to town without telling her. Or that mom in South Carolina, Debra Harrell, a few years back. She let her daughter, 9, play at a popular sprinkler park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s. For this, Harrell was thrown in jail and had her daughter taken from her for 17 days.

As parents, we shudder at the thought of overreach like that. We also shudder at the thought of child abuse. By narrowing the definition of neglect, our law gives hardworking Department of Child Services personnel more time to focus on the kids who are truly in danger.

Hoosier parents deserve the freedom to take their eyes off their kids when they know their kids are ready. Hoosier kids deserve to enjoy that freedom. And if they use it to make a tree house or drink a Slurpee for lunch, well, that’s not against the law.

Rep. Jake Teshka represents Indiana’s 7th District (St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties). Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana’s 32nd District (Marion and Hamilton counties).

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Indiana

Pride organizers, ACLU sue Indiana city again, saying it defied court

Published

16 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pride organizers, ACLU sue Indiana city again, saying it defied court

An LGBTQ advocacy group is once again suing Loogootee, Indiana, claiming the city is ignoring a recent court decision ruling its actions unconstitutional and is pushing its festival out of the public square illegally.

The Southern Indiana city of 2,600 people and festival organizer Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group have fought for years over LGBTQ expression on city property, specifically where the annual PrideFest would be held.

The city had enacted a special events policy that would prevent the group from holding the festival at the public square downtown. The U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana handed the city a major defeat in August, ruling that the policy was too broad and violated organizers’ First Amendment rights.

Now, Loogootee has enacted another special events policy that mirrors several measures in the one that the court struck down. In response, the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Pakota Valley, filed a new lawsuit against the policy and filed a motion alleging the city is disobeying court orders.

“Court orders must be complied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance that contains provisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders,” ACLU Indiana legal director Ken Falk said in a news release. “Moreover, the ordinance it has adopted continues Loogootee’s pattern of attempting to unconstitutionally restrict this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.”

The new legal twist is the most recent development in what’s been a tense local culture war between the LGBTQ+ community seeking to publicly celebrate their identity and the strong, sometimes threatening, community pushback to their efforts.

Is Loogootee’s ‘new’ policy new?

Judge Richard L. Young listed three primary factors in his August ruling as to why he found Loogootee’s old policy unconstitutional: a 45-day event permit application deadline, small group thresholds, and event location limits. He also disagreed with the city’s health and safety reasoning for such rules.

Public institutions can legally establish restrictions on the time, place and manner of free expression as long as these restrictions are narrowly tailored.

Enacted Dec. 29, the new ordinance reuses the same language regarding the permit deadline and small groups but broadens the locations where an event can be held. Instead of limiting an event to one of two places, an event can now be held anywhere except within 240 feet of the town center’s fountain.

In its complaint, the ACLU argued that the “verbatim” measures and the new location restriction are all unconstitutional.

“The ‘new’ Ordinance is therefore ‘new’ in name only and, in reality, Loogootee has simply reenacted provisions that this Court has explicitly enjoined as unconstitutional,” the ACLU’s complaint reads.

Loogootee Mayor Brian Ader previously told IndyStar that the city planned to appeal the District Court’s decision, but an appeal was never filed.

The USA TODAY Network – Indiana’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.

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Indiana

Bryce Boettcher Opens Up About Indiana Ahead Of Playoff Semifinals

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Bryce Boettcher Opens Up About Indiana Ahead Of Playoff Semifinals

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks are preparing to face the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers for the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ahead of the matchup, Oregon star linebacker Bryce Boettcher discussed the game, which will be a rematch of the Ducks’ only loss this season.

The Oregon Ducks are coming off a shutout win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Boettcher addressed how the team can keep momentum, but called Indiana a better opponent.

Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher celebrates his win as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on Nov. 22, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I mean, we had a really good game. I think it just obviously gives you confidence. You can’t get complacent with that confidence. You got to realize that Indiana is going to be a way better team than Tech. Tech was a good team, but Indiana is better. At this point, it’s win or go home. We’re pumped for the opportunity,” Boettcher said.

What Sticks Out About The Rematch Against Indana

“A couple things defensively. First off, when you stop the run, they’re really good at running the ball. We got to do that. Got to cage your quarterback. Feel like he’s overlooked for how good he is at scrambling at times, getting out of the pocket. Got to do that, just do our job.”

How Oregon Has Changed Since First Game Against Indiana

“We’ve sewn some things up within our defense. As we played them, we installed some new defenses that we’re still working the kinks out of. Now we’re experts at it. Everybody knows their job in and out. We’ve had a lot of reps at it.”

Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher walks the orange carpet as the Oregon Ducks arrive at Miami International Airport ahead of the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami, Florida. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Much The First Matchup Against Indiana Goes Into Playoff Preperation

“It definitely comes into play. I mean, obviously, they’re not a new team but an evolved team, and so are we. I think more so, kind of correcting our errors in where we went wrong in the first game, doing some self-scout and recognizing that. They may try to expose that again in this next game. Yeah, it comes into play a little bit. We also watched new film because they’re an evolved team.”

The Challenge In Beating The Same Team Twice

“I mean, I think obviously that’s a narrative. I know teams have been beaten twice. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. I don’t know, I think Indiana is a good team. We’re also a good team. The better team’s going to win.”

What Being In The Semifinals Means To Bryce Boettcher

“It means everything. It’s a pretty rare opportunity. There’s four teams left. Pretty cool. Surreal. I’ll be happy once we get this win. Honestly, I’m head down, focused on the task at hand. But it’s a cool opportunity.”

MORE: Curt Cignetti Speaks Candidly On Oregon Ducks Playoff Rematch

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MORE: Oregon Freshman Brandon Finney Turns Heads With Comments After Orange Bowl

How Bryce Boettcher Is Handling The Magnitude Of The Game

“I mean, I’ve played a lot of big games in my year here, whether it be football or baseball. I feel like I do a pretty good job at handling the magnitude of the game. At the end of the day, it’s a football game. We play the game every day in practice. We’ve been in pretty dang big games. It’s just another game, but it’s win or go home, so I’m pumped for that aspect.”

Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher (28) poses for a photo head coach Dan Lanning before the game against the Southern California Trojans at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

How Oregon Is Handling The Long Trips

“It’s always cool when you get to spend some time together. Obviously, most of the time we’re spending time together, it’s pretty locked in at the task at hand. We try not to spend a whole lot of time talking about other stuff other than football. There are other times on the plane or in the hotel room when you have some downtime that you can come together, bond. So it’s been fun.”

How The Defense Can Install New Ways To Stop Indiana

“You can’t be the same team every time you play another team, or else they’ll just scout you, know what you’re in every single time.”

“You got to do your assignment, play hard. At the end of the day, the team that plays the hardest and does their assignment is going to win. Some variables, throw in some new things at a team, which is definitely important. When Indiana comes out, I’m sure they won’t do everything we’ve seen on film. They’ll have a few wrinkles. That’s the exciting part.”

What Went Wrong Against Indiana In October

“Just doing our job within our defense. Honestly, the past Indiana game, couple mental errors where I didn’t necessarily do my job in the body of the defense. Same goes for other guys on our team. I think just sewing that up, better understanding our opponent, having a better game plan going into the game.”

Dec 20, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the fourth quarter against the James Madison Dukes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

What Makes Indiana’s Offensive Line Good

“They’re smart, fast, and physical. I know up front in their run game, they play physical, and they do their job. They don’t have a lot of unblocked hats. I know in the screen game, they get out and are elite at kind of retracing and blocking for their receiver in the screen game, which was present in our last game. We’ve done a lot of screen drills. They’re a good unit. They play well together and do their job.”

What The Loss Against Indiana Meant For The Rest Of The Season

“I believe everything happens for a reason. I think we needed that to kind of wake us up. We came out of a big Penn State win, kind of thought we were pretty cool going into that week, pretty confident. Got a little lackadaisical with our prep, I think. It was a good wake-up call. The rest of the season leading up to this point is a pretty good testament to the way we responded to that loss.”