Connie Lawson
RIndiana Secretary of State (2012-present)
Committee assignments (? - Present)
To be claimed
Former Member, Appointments and Claims Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Elections Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Joint Rules Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Local Government Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Member, Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Member, Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Member, Appointments and Claims Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Elections Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Joint Rules Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Chair, Local Government Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Member, Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, Indiana State Senate
Former Member, Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, Indiana State Senate
— Awards:
— Number of Grandchildren:
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- X
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Prohibit public funding of abortions and of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- X
7. Require abortion providers to make ultrasound imaging and fetal heartbeat information available to patients.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Education (Higher)
- No Answer
2. Education (K-12)
- No Answer
3. Environment
- No Answer
4. Health care
- No Answer
5. Law enforcement
- No Answer
6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- No Answer
7. Welfare
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Greatly Increase
2. Capital gains taxes
- No Answer
3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
4. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Inheritance taxes
- Eliminate
7. Property taxes
- Eliminate
8. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
9. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
11. Should Indiana raise the flat state income tax?
- No
12. Should Indiana institute a graduated state income tax structure?
- No
13. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- Yes
14. Should accounts such as the "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No
15. How would you propose to reform Indiana's property tax system? Please use forty (40) words or less.
- The Property Tax Study Commission created in 2004 needs time to work. I would support a County Review Board which would require each governmental unit to report proposed tax levys & capitol projects to prevent tax payers in one taxing unit to finance exp: fire station, new jail, new school all in the same year
16. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the current limit of two consecutive four-year terms for Indiana governors?
- Yes
2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Indiana state senators and representatives?
- No
1. Individual
- No
2. PAC
- Yes
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Parties
- Undecided
5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- No
7. Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
- Yes
8. Do you support prohibiting the reporting of media exit polling results until all polling locations in Indiana are closed?
- Yes
9. Should Indiana recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No
10. Should Indiana restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?
- Yes
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer
2. Support the death penalty in Indiana.
- No Answer
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
4. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X
5. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
6. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer
7. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer
8. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer
9. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- No Answer
10. Increase funding for state and local emergency agencies to prevent and to respond to terrorist attacks.
- No Answer
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- X
2. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- X
3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer
4. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- No Answer
5. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- No Answer
6. Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
- No Answer
7. Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X
8. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X
9. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- No Answer
10. Increase funding for Head Start programs.
- No Answer
11. Provide state funding for voluntary full-day kindergarten across the state.
- No Answer
12. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
13. Support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
- No Answer
14. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- X
15. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
4. Give preference to Indiana companies in bidding for state contracts.
- X
5. Require companies doing contract work for state government to employ only U.S. citizens and individuals authorized to work in the U.S.
- X
6. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
7. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
8. Include sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
9. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer
10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Public employment
- No
2. State college and university admissions
- No
3. State contracting
- No
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X
2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil).
- X
3. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X
4. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X
5. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- No Answer
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
2. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
3. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X
5. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- No Answer
6. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- No Answer
7. Require a license for gun possession.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- No Answer
2. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- X
3. Limit the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
4. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- X
5. Support patients' right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied.
- X
6. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- X
7. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Indiana.
- No Answer
8. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X
2. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
3. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
4. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- X
5. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- X
6. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to extend health and child care subsidies to the working poor.
- X
7. Support marriage promotion programs for welfare recipients.
- X
8. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
Please explain in a total of 75 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer
On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which had been created by President Donald Trump on May 11, requested information on registered voters from all 50 states dating back to 2006. The states were given until July 14 to respond. On June 30, Secretary Lawson announced that the state would provide only publicly available information to the commission. “ Indiana law doesn’t permit the Secretary of State to provide the personal information requested by Secretary Kobach. Under Indiana public records laws, certain voter info is available to the public, the media, and any other person who requested the information for non-commercial purposes. The information publicly available is name, address, and congressional district assignment. ” —Secretary Connie Lawson