President Bush's war on terrorism and Indiana's budget crisis will converge on Nov. 5 -- and the two will unite at the Pittenger Student Center.
The student center, in addition to Northwood Middle School, will serve as the site where students can cast their vote to help select new representatives who will venture to serve in both Washington D.C. and Indianapolis.
Polls will be only open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the consequences of those 12 hours could linger for years.
Though nationally the Republicans hold the advantage in the House of Representatives, the Democrats only need six seats to tip the legislative scale in their favor -- and possibly divert attention away from Iraq and to domestic issues closer to home.
"The focus on Iraq has obscured these other issues," said James Connolly, an associate professor of history. "And even if voters don't care about this as much as they do domestic issues, it's just very hard for the Democrats to find a public platform."
And while the state's representative races may not have as much of a direct impact on national security, the outcome of the elections could have long-reaching implications for higher education funding.
Overall, political science chairman Joe Losco said this year's election should prove to be a significant one.
"(In the state) higher education will be competing with a lot of other worthwhile causes," Losco said. "(And) at the national level, the big reason to get out and vote is the change in parties. It's very significant."
< B>National:
< B>Three candidates this year are vying for a seat in Congress: incumbent Republican Mike Pence and Melina Fox and Doris Robertson - a Democrat and Libertarian respectively. The victor will serve in the House of Representatives from January of 2003 to January of 2005.
* Pence, who was elected in 2000, graduated from Hanover College in 1981 and earned his doctorate in law from Indiana University. He currently serves as the chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight and he is a member of the Agriculture and Judiciary committees.
* Fox graduated from Purdue University with a degree in sociology and political science. She received her Masters Degree in secondary education from Indiana University. She has served on the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency State Committee
* Doris Robertson, according to The Star Press, works as the legal assistant and personal secretary to Indianapolis lawyer Curtis Shirley. Robertson is a first-time candidate.
The prospect of war continues to eclipse the national agenda, but domestic issues, from privatizing social security to debating prescription drug plans, will inevitably return, said Dan Reagan, an associate professor of political science.
"When there's a war, that focus shifts...but what recent history suggests is that (it) doesn't last long," Reagan said. "The important thing to remember is how volatile the situation is."
Democrats in the Senate are already trying to push a resolution through authorizing military power to Bush, partially in hopes of moving on to more Democrat-friendly issues, Reagan said.
"The only competition for the war on Iraq is the state of the economy," Losco said. "Sept. 11 really changed a lot. If we moved in to Iraq and start rebuilding the area, then we could clearly go back to issues domestically."
If Democrats gained control over Capital Hill, they would primarily focus on the economy, said Dennis Tyler, the chairman of the Delaware Democratic Party.
"We've lost 3.8 million jobs, and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight," Tyler said. "It's got to be scaring people to death."
Tyler said Democrats will also tackle, among other issues, approving prescription drug plans for seniors, preventing the privatization of social security and raising the minimum wage.
Fox, on her Web site, supports the first two issues, but does not address raising social security.
If in power, newly elected Democrats may also undo some of the military powers that the current Congress may give Bush, Tyler said.
Pence, however, has given Bush continual support in his war on terrorism and warns on his Web site that Americans cannot "allow security to be lost in politics and bureaucracy."
And when presented with economic problems, Republicans have traditionally advocated less governmental intervention, said Sally Jo Vasicko, a professor of political science.
Pence is no exception. He wants to make tax cuts permanent and simplify the tax code, and as chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee, he is trying to break down some government regulations.
Vasicko warns, however, that the issues before the Congress cannot be easily solved by either party.
"None of these things that we're talking about have simple answers to them," she said. "There are differences between the parties and among the parties."
Mid-term elections' power has become diluted over the years, and significant voter turnout is needed to considerably transform the political climate, Connolly said.
< B>State:
< B>Without national security pressing the agenda, Indiana legislators instead can focus almost exclusively on the state's estimated $1.3 billion deficit, and its sure to be the issue that dominates all others when the General Assembly begins anew.
Incumbent Democrat Tiny Adams has campaigned to maintain his seat in the Indiana General Assembly and on the budget-crafting Ways and Means Committee. Republican candidate Tom Bennington, however, hopes to dethrone Adams and "take back our government."
* Adams, elected in 1996, attended Indiana University and the University of Evansville. Along with his position on the Ways and Means Committee, Adams also serves on the Local Government Committee.
* Bennington retired from the military in 1974 as a Master Chief Petty Officer. In 1987, he graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor of science. Before he retired again in 2001, he worked 21 years as the maintenance supervisor for the Muncie Sanitary District and superintendent of Anderson's sewage utility.
Meanwhile, Democrat Allie Craycraft will compete against Republican Andrew Phipps over Delaware County's spot in the Indiana Senate, currently held by Craycraft.
* Craycraft attended the Muncie Trade School and special courses in the Air Force, where he served from 1952 to 1956. In the Senate, he is the assistant minority caucus chair.
* Phipps graduated from Ball State University. He was a secondary school teacher at Selma High School, New Castle Chrysler High School and Muncie Southside High School.
The General Assembly will commence its term in January, but the budget won't be finished until the end of the session in late April. University administrators are already expecting state support to be weaker than it has been.
And many political newcomers are campaigning on more responsible state spending in the future, such as Bennington.
Amid budget talks, however, Losco and the American Association of Presidents will revive their efforts to put faculty on universities' boards of trustees.
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