Indiana
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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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 Texas.
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
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 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.
Indiana
FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where
Dan Bongino announces he will be leaving the FBI in January
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced he is leaving in January after less than a year as the law enforcement agency’s number two official.
At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.
FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.
Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.
Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”
“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.
Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.
Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.
In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.
The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.
In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”
IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.
Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
Indiana
Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures in Central Indiana are expected to remain above normal through late this week, with highs near 60 degrees expected by Thursday and Friday. Rain showers are predicted from Thursday through Friday night, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.
Today:
Dry and mild, with high temperatures ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s. Just a mix of sun and clouds with light winds should make for a pleasant afternoon.
Tonight:
Lows in the mid 30s to low 40s, with patchy drizzle or fog possible late.
Tuesday:
Mostly cloudy skies and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph, elevating highs into the lower to middle 50s. A few light showers will be possible through the day as well.
Wednesday:
Should be the best day of the week, featuring more sunshine and lighter winds, with highs in the low to mid 50s.
Late week storm system:
Highs on Thursday and Friday are set to approach 60°, which will be pushing a few records across the state.
A warm front moving through Thursday evening will spark scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms across the area starting Thursday afternoon.
A stronger storm or two can’t be ruled out.
Showers will continue into the first half of Friday, before the cold front pushes out of the state later in the day.
As the weekend approaches, the cold front will move through, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Conditions will become cooler and breezy, with spotty flurries possible as temperatures return to seasonal norms for this time of year.
Looking ahead, the weekend is expected to bring a return to cooler temperatures and near-seasonal norms, with potential light snow flurries in the forecast as a cold front passes through Central Indiana.
Indiana
Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal
BLOOMINGTON — Curt Cignetti reinforced his running back rotation, which will need an offseason makeover due to eligibility related attrition, on Sunday with the commitment of Boston College running back Turbo Richard according to multiple media outlets.
Richard helps relieve the stress created by the departures of Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading rushers in 2025, both of whom will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the current season. Cignetti and his staff add Richard to a running back room already anchored around Lee Beebe Jr., returning from injury, and Khobie Martin, the one-time Fishers star who flashed meaningful potential this season.
Here’s what to know about IU’s newest running back:
Turbo Richard provides proven production
Indiana has, in Cignetti’s two seasons in Bloomington, shown a repeated desire to add skill players who’ve shown impact in numbers and film. Richard fits that bill.
Across two seasons in Chestnut Hill, he posted 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, with another 275 yards receiving and two more touchdowns through the air.
Last season, Richard accounted for 962 total yards and 11 scores.
He’s shown explosiveness too: Richard posted at least one carry of 10-plus yards in seven different games last season, with single-game highs of 18, 43, 46 and 71 yards.
How much eligibility does Turbo Richard have remaining?
Cignetti often refers to players with more than one year of eligibility remaining as more valuable in the portal. His program will get as many as two from Richard.
Additionally, the Charlotte native played right away at Boston College, in 2024, meaning he has a redshirt year if he needs it for any reason as well.
Fit to type
Listed at 5-8, 207 pounds, Richard looks on film a lot like the kind of back Indiana has had success with in Cignetti’s tenure.
He’s quick and nimble enough to get involved in the pass game, but powerful enough to make an impact between the tackles. He also shows excellent burst — as evidenced by those explosive numbers — potentially replacing the second- and third-level burst that made Black and Hemby so dangerous this season.
Indiana led the Big Ten in rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. Richard profiles as the kind of back that can help sustain that production into 2026.
Back rotation settled?
It’s not clear exactly where Beebe stands in his recovery from a season-ending injury suffered in September. If IU is confident in his return to form, coupled to Martin’s development, this could wind up as Indiana’s running back rotation into next season.
The Hoosiers have reportedly hosted other portal running backs, so it’s possible IU isn’t done here. But especially given Martin’s flashes this season (74 carries, 463 yards, six TDs), if Indiana is settled here, then the Hoosiers appear to have handed position coach John Miller another healthy stable of backs to build a run game around.
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