The Tribune is partnering with the League of Ladies Voters of the South Bend Space and the American Democracy Mission of Indiana College South Bend to publish candidates’ solutions to questions on the problems. The League and IUSB’s ADP operates Vote411.org, a web site with details about the candidates and their positions on key points. The location additionally contains different instruments to assist navigate the voting course of.

The Tribune has agreed to run candidate solutions unedited, which means any spelling, typographical or grammatical errors are the candidates’ personal. The Tribune is publishing solely a number of the questions from a choice of vital races. Extra questions and solutions can be found at Vote411.org.

Melinda (Mindy) Fountain

Democrat

Educator, College of Notre Dame

whats up@fountainforindiana.com

http://fountainforindiana.com

574-213-2404

Fb.com/FountainForIndiana

Linda Rogers

Republican

State senator; proprietor of Juday Creek Golf Course, President of Nugent Builders

linda@lindarogers.com

lindarogers.com

574-277-5512

Which concern is extra urgent in Indiana: voter entry or election fraud? Which is the higher risk to election integrity? Clarify.

Fountain: Voter entry is vital to a thriving democracy. It’s important that we forestall election fraud by putting in safeguards within the voting course of that we regularly monitor. Lately many investigations have explored questions on voter fraud, and located a negligible quantity, which is a testomony to the numerous hardworking individuals who make our democratic course of work. On the identical time, many states, together with Indiana, will not be doing sufficient to make voting simpler and extra accessible for all Hoosiers. Indiana has one of many earliest ballot closing occasions in the US. Indiana additionally has extra restrictions on who can request an absentee poll than most states. All Hoosiers should have their voices heard in our elections, and we should create the circumstances to make voting accessible for all Hoosiers.

Rogers: Voter confidence is the most important risk and it comes from each entry and fraud. I would like all eligible Hoosier voters to have the chance to confidently solid their poll. A lot of the voter entry concern comes right down to educating voters in regards to the quite a few choices and places they should vote and inspiring participation. When folks have the notion that it’s too tough to vote or there could also be manipulation of their vote they could get discouraged and keep dwelling. Within the 2022 legislative session, I sponsored laws to enhance election integrity which strikes up the requirement for every county to have all its digital voting machines embrace a voter-verifiable paper audit path by July 1, 2022, and extends the requirement for every county to keep up an election safety settlement with the Secretary of State by way of the top of 2027 and prolonged a contract that was already in place with election safety agency FireEye to observe cyber-threats towards county election system.

If elected, what’s the first invoice you’ll champion within the 2023 legislative session? Why that one?

Fountain: An training invoice to help instructor and faculty worker salaries. Our lecturers are the spine of our colleges, and reduces in pay, will increase at school sizes and testing, issues about security, in addition to the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic have made their jobs extremely tough. The result’s that now we have an excessive instructor scarcity in Indiana that isn’t but resolved. In July, there have been over 2300 open educating positions posted on the Indiana Division of Training job board, and one other 900 open pupil help positions, similar to faculty counselors, classroom aides and cafeteria staff. As the college yr started, there have been nonetheless over 1,000 openings throughout the state. For our kids’s and our group’s futures, we should change the trajectory for our public training system, and present our invaluable lecturers and faculty employees the help they deserve. That is important to encourage higher numbers of graduates to enter the educating career, and to retain employees.

Rogers: Some of the urgent points for Indiana is the essential scarcity of obtainable employees. It is a downside that’s impacting practically each enterprise, business, and even our colleges. The issue will get exacerbated by the shortage of reasonably priced childcare which retains dad and mom out of the workforce. I can be collaborating with my colleagues, childcare employees, and colleges to develop laws that gives alternatives for households to afford childcare, enter the workforce, and assist fill our vacant positions. I see this as alternative to carry certified employees to the Hoosier State as properly.

Indiana ranks poorly in relation to maternal well being. What, if something, ought to the legislature do about this downside?

Fountain: In late September the Indiana State Division of Well being Maternal Mortality Overview Committee launched their newest report. In 2020, the speed of pregnancy-related deaths practically doubled in comparison with two years earlier to 23 deaths per 100,000 in 2020. They decided that just about 80 p.c of all pregnancy-associated deaths in Indiana had been preventable. To fight maternal mortality, their suggestions included will increase in public funding for early little one care, starting in infancy; complete, evidence-based reproductive well being training; common entry for long-acting reversible contraception; medicaid and insurance coverage protection for medical procedures. As a substitute of such constructive help, this summer season the IN legislature spent $240,000 to carry a particular session to cross an excessive abortion ban. My opponent even voted towards exceptions to the ban for circumstances of rape and incest. Our present legislators will not be keen to cross laws that helps pregnant girls, youngsters, and households.

Rogers: Maternal well being is a priority of the Indiana Legislature and as such in 2019, the Common Meeting handed laws to construct a community of companies and help to create more healthy outcomes for each mothers and infants. This system known as My Wholesome Child and is a collaboration between the Indiana Division of Well being, FSSA, and DCS. Nonetheless, there may be not a one measurement suits all answer and there must be many choices to assist moms throughout the state. I’ve had the pleasure of observing a tremendous program in our group that’s coordinated by Goodwill Industries, it’s the Nurse-Household Partnership that pairs first-time anticipating moms with a registered nurse for ongoing dwelling visits and is geared toward supporting moms and giving a optimistic begin in life for newborns. It’s crucial that the legislature continues to fund and monitor these packages and others like them to enhance maternal well being. I’m honored to function the Chair of the Senate Household and Kids’s Providers Committee.

On August fifth, the Indiana Common Meeting handed a legislation banning abortion besides in circumstances of rape and incest (earlier than 10-weeks post-fertilization), to guard the life and bodily well being of the mom, or if a fetus is identified with a deadly anomaly. Do you help this new legislation? Do you suppose the legislation goes too far, or not far sufficient, in limiting entry to abortion?

Fountain: This invoice is an excessive act of presidency overreach into our private, non-public lives. No matter one’s private beliefs about abortion, being pregnant is difficult, and this invoice will trigger undue misery, confusion, and struggling to girls and households who endure problems and doable miscarriages. Most individuals are appalled on the concept of 10 yr previous rape victims being compelled to offer delivery to their perpetrators’ infants, such because the little one who got here to Indiana to finish her being pregnant this summer season. Sadly, my opponent supported this invoice, and voted towards exceptions for victims of rape and incest. Already, docs are leaving our state, compounding current shortages of maternal care. Greater than 1 / 4 of Indiana counties had been already thought-about “maternal care deserts,” with little to no maternal well being help, which this can exacerbate. Felony legal prosecution for docs means they must seek the advice of with attorneys when lives are at stake. This ban is harmful and excessive.

Rogers: Candidate has not but responded.