WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

Attorney General Curtis Hill said today that rather than appealing a federal district court’s June 28 preliminary injunction against Indiana’s dismemberment abortion ban, he will focus his office’s resources on the larger issue proceeding to summary judgment or trial — the inherent constitutionality of the ban itself.

Dismemberment abortions are second-trimester procedures in which physicians use forceps to rip live fetuses piece by piece from their mothers’ wombs. As they are being dismembered, the fetuses bleed to death.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, representing a physician who performs dismemberment abortions, filed a lawsuit in April challenging the constitutionality of Indiana’s ban on the procedure. The plaintiff in this case, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, performs dismemberment abortions at IU Health Methodist and Eskenazi hospitals, both in Indianapolis.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case involving an Alabama ban on dismemberment abortions held to be unconstitutional by a federal appellate court, but five other states — Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio — have ongoing cases concerning dismemberment bans.

“I remain committed to protecting the value and dignity of fetal life by defending Indiana’s law banning this brutal and inhumane procedure,” Attorney General Hill said. “At this juncture, I believe our best path forward in this case is to proceed to summary judgment as we continue to gather evidence and formulate strategy.”

By Abrahm Hurt
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS–Identification hurdles, poorly-trained poll workers and missing power cords for voting machines are just a few of the problems people face when trying to vote in the United States.

“In Georgia last year, we had a polling place at Morehouse College, which is a HBCU (historically black college and university) and is in one of the blackest districts in the state,” said Porsha White, national political director at Let America Vote. “And the power cords went missing for three hours on election day.”

White, along with Matthew Kochevar, co-general counsel for the Indiana Election Division, spoke on fighting for and expanding the right to vote at the Young Democrats of America national convention on Wednesday.

The convention, being held through Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Downtown Indianapolis, is expected to bring about 1,000 Democrats under age 36 from around the state and nation to Indiana. Highlights including South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a top-tier candidate for the Democratic nomination for president who will address the convention Thursday evening, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who speaks Friday evening.

White said voting rights are being attacked at the local, state and federal levels.

“We have a severe lack of protections from the feds for state laws from doing things like purging voters and making sure that we are running our elections in a secure fashion,” White said.

Kochevar said Indiana has seen restrictive voter ID laws, restrictions to absentee voting and restrictions on registering to vote.

In 2005, the state became one of the first in the nation to enact a strict voter ID law. It requires a federal or state-issued identification card that has a photo, a name that matches the voter registration and an expiration date.

“That means local IDs, all private university IDs, are not acceptable for voting, which really limits those folks who may not be from the state but go to college here who are residents, who use services here, who rely on local, county and state government services to live while they’re studying here,” he said.

White said Oregon, Colorado, Washington and California have or will be implementing voting by mail, where each voter is mailed a ballot to complete and return to a local election administrator.

In California, vote-by-mail ballots can be sent to county elections officials, returned in-person to a polling place or to a county elections official, dropped in a county ballot drop box or voters can authorize someone to return the ballot on their behalf.

Voters also can track and confirm the receipt of vote-by-mail ballots by going online or calling.

White called vote-by-mail “the dream” and said it is known to increase voter participation.

Viola Myers, attending the convention from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, said she’d love to see vote-by-mail come to her state, noting she lives in a rural area with limited transportation.

In a recent election, she said, she went to vote at her usual polling place and was told she was in the wrong location.

“It was the location I’ve always gone to, and then they sent me across town,” she said. “But when I got there, the place was already closed.”

Abrahm Hurt is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalists.

 

German American Bank has made a financial commitment to University of Evansville athletics that will result in an impressive renovation to the Aces baseball stadium, which will now be named “German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.” The announcement was made at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the stadium. Included in the renovations will be a full Astroturf field, padded walls throughout the entire stadium with new fence lines down the first and third base lines, dugout and bullpen renovations as well as a new LED scoreboard.

University of Evansville President Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz explained how this project will benefit the campus and also the Evansville community.

“We are very thankful to German American Bank for making this commitment to the University of Evansville.  This raises the profile of our baseball program and adds to the momentum of our university,” he said.  “While we benefit from holding UE athletic events on our campus, the opportunity to welcome outside sporting events will benefit the entire region.”

Commenting on German American’s involvement in the project, Chairman and CEO Mark Schroeder stated, “Our decision to support the renovation of the Aces baseball stadium follows upon the positive engagement we experienced with the University and the positive momentum of UE sports.  Attracting more people to the Evansville community by supporting the universities makes a positive impact on the local economy and quality of life. This opportunity fits our giving culture and enhances our branding opportunities not only in the Evansville market but throughout the region.”

“The immense effect of this renovation will resonate throughout the Southern Indiana community.  German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium will become the premier baseball venue in the Tri-State,” Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll said.  “It will host sporting events for all ages and will impact the overall perception of University of Evansville Baseball.”

UE Director of Athletics Mark Spencer, echoed those sentiments and detailed how this would be a benefit all student-athletes at the University.

“I speak for everyone when I express how thankful our university, athletic program and student-athletes are to our partners at German American Bank,” Spencer said.  “While this will take our baseball program to a new level, it will also have an impact on many of our other sports.  An outdoor turf field allows us to have a playing and practice surface that is able to handle the challenges of Southern Indiana spring weather.  It will give all student-athletes an opportunity for practice and preparation that they have not had access to in the past.”

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled to take place in the early fall, and the renovations are planned to take 2-3 months.  It is expected to be completed well in advance of the Aces’ 2020 baseball campaign.  A dedication will be held later in the 2019 calendar year to showcase the completed project.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Jim Brownlee – UE Head Baseball Coach – 1980-2002

“I think back to 1979 when we did not have dugouts and the worst playing surface in America!  We have come a long way in 40 years!  Congratulations to all who made this possible!  Go Aces!”

Andy Benes – UE pitcher under Coach Brownlee – 1985-88 – 1^st overall draft pick in 1988 MLB Amateur Draft – US Olympic gold medalist – 14-year MLB pitcher with 155 MLB wins and 2,000 MLB strikeouts

“What an amazing win for UE baseball and our wonderful community. This opens the door to help Wes and his staff compete on a national stage with a premium venue and to sell this great academic institution and its facilities to future Aces. As an alum, a heartfelt “thank you” to German American Bank for investing into the school and its athletes. This is truly a game changer and I am excited to see what the future holds.”

Jamey Carroll – UE infielder 1993-96 under Coach Brownlee – 14^th round pick by Montreal Expos in 1996 MLB Draft – Played in the majors from 2002 through 2013 accumulating 1,000 hits

“Congratulations to the University of Evansville and German American Bank for teaming up to improve Aces Athletics.  This partnership will continue to advance the University of Evansville baseball program, allowing them more opportunity to compete to go to Omaha.  As an alum, I am grateful to ALL that put in the effort to make it a great day to be an Ace!”

Kyle Freeland – UE pitcher 2012-14 – Baseball America First Team All-American in 2014 – Eighth overall draft pick by Colorado Rockies in 2014

“This is a great opportunity for UE and the baseball team.  The new facility will allow the players to maximize their abilities and grow as baseball players.  This shows how Coach Carroll and the UE staff have helped to build the program; they have earned the right to have a top notch facility.  From the renovation of the locker rooms to the Armory project and now this project, it is great for the Aces.  I wish we had this when I was here, but I cannot wait to see the finished product!”