Eastern Star Church to host panel on voter engagement

To combat the reduction in voter engagement and participation in Indiana, Eastern Star Church is hosting a panel at 7 p.m. on Sept. 4 at their main campus. The panel will focus on addressing “the critical importance of voting and reflect on the legacy of trailblazers who fought for the freedom to vote,” according to a statement released by the church. “The significant challenge remains formal participation in the election process, i.e., voter registration and voter turnout,” according to the Indiana Civic Health Index published by the Indiana Bar Foundation. In recent years, voter participation in Indiana has been on the decline. “In 2010, a midterm election year, Indiana was ranked 48th in voting in the nation and in 2022, Indiana ranked 50th. The national voting rate of 52.2% exceeded the Indiana voting rate (41.9%) by more than 10%,” per the Index. Event highlights will include a discussion moderated by Pastor Percy Bland, Jr. of Eastern Star Church and featuring Eastern Star Senior Pastor Jeffrey A. Johnson, Sr., Indiana State Senate candidate Katrina Owens and Reverend Nicole Barnes of Faith in Action. Topics will range from understanding the process of voting to empowering individual voters to get and stay involved....