Victoria Woeste's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Victoria Woeste has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Indiana State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Many of these questions refer to issues that most states have already settled for themselves. The yes/no framing of these questions masks the social context and personal difficulties with which many women seeking abortions are dealing. The Supreme Court just recently overturned a Texas antiabortion law that made it practically impossible for providers to exist. States may not impose "undue burdens" on women seeking abortion as is permitted by state and federal law. Reasonable regulations under this limitation may be permitted. | |||
1) State Spending:Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State Taxes:Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| I would include expanding mental health care (access and number of providers) under health care, as part of a broad public health policy and as a specific strategy to deal with methamphetamine and opiate addiction. Indiana is sitting on a $2 billion surplus that was created by draining the budget earmarked for public education. I would vote to return some of this money to the public schools. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| I'd support mandatory spending limits for state and local campaigns. Voluntary limits will have no real effect. If we limit spending, then we could limit contributions in a fair and equitable way. Until that sort of proposal takes effect, I see no point in silencing individuals and PACs. I do not believe corporations have political rights or the right to use money as speech (despite Citizens United) and so I would agree with a limit on corporate contributions. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | |||
| g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | |||
| j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | |||
| b) it depends on how the tax cut is structured. In general, tax cuts have been shown not to produce economic growth. c) only when it's in the public interest to do so; Indiana's environmental regulations are among the least stringent in the nation, with the result that we have serious problems with acid rain, toxic runoff into groundwater supplies, air pollution from industrial sources; and some of the dirtiest natural bodies of water in the Midwest. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| c) I believe the tenure system in principle is sound, but I would support having continuing training and professional development goals for tenured teachers to meet in order to earn raises, merit pay, and other bonuses. d) Vouchers and for-profit charter schools are at present completely unaccountable for how they spend public funds; nor are they required to meet state educational policies or accept all students regardless of ability or special needs. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Indiana's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Fracking is so destructive I wonder how anyone could believe that the energy we obtain through it can possibly be worth the lasting damage (earthquakes, water pollution). If energy companies got on board with solar and wind, they could easily remain economically viable while reducing the negative externalities of destructive fossil-fuel extractive technologies. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| More than 80% of all Americans support reasonable safeguards on gun ownership. Weapons of mass murder are not necessary for citizens to enjoy their 2d Amendment rights. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers? | ||
| No single right enumerated in the Bill of Rights or in the Indiana Constitution is superior to or trumps the exercise of any other right. If a business opens its doors to the general public, it may not decline service to people, because corporations do not possess the capacity to hold, act on, or profess religious beliefs. This idea is absolutely fundamental to American notions of equality and full citizenship. | |||
| 1. Education (pre-K through college). We must restore state funding of elementary, secondary, and university schools to their pre-2008 levels. The money that was taken from public school budgets is sitting in a $2 billion surplus account. Education is the state's most hallowed responsibility to its citizens. 2. Jobs and economic growth. Indiana lags in recovery from the 2008 recession. I would fund unemployment and job training programs with a modest draw-down of the surplus. 3. Improving access to mental health care. I would repeal laws that raise barriers to entry and encourage the training of more nurse practitioners. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.