Editing Vigo County, Indiana (section)

==Government==
{{see also|Government of Indiana}}
The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Indiana]], and by the [[Indiana Code]]. The county council is the fiscal body of the county government and controls spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives, elected to four-year terms from county districts, are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.<ref name=inc3623>{{cite web|author=Indiana Code|author-link=Indiana Code|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title36/ar2/ch3.html|title=Title 36, Article 2, Section 3|access-date=September 16, 2008|publisher=IN.gov}}</ref><ref name=inc2102>{{cite web|author=Indiana Code|url=http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227171739/http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title3/ar10/ch2.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2004 |url-status=live|title=Title 2, Article 10, Section 2|access-date=September 16, 2008|publisher=IN.gov}}</ref>

A board of commissioners is the executive and legislative body of the county. Commissioners are elected county-wide to staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners execute the acts of the county council, and manage the county government.<ref name=inc3623/><ref name=inc2102/>

The county maintains a [[small claims court]] that handles civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level [[circuit court]].<ref name = inc2102/>

The county has other elected offices, including [[sheriff]], [[coroner]], [[auditor]], [[treasurer]], [[recorder of deeds|recorder]], [[surveying|surveyor]], and circuit [[court clerk]]. These officers are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare [[political party|party]] affiliations and to be residents of the county.<ref name=inc2102/>

===Politics===
The county was regarded as one of the best [[bellwether]] regions in U.S. presidential elections.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/opinion/biden-trump-bellwether-counties-.html |work= [[The New York Times]] |title= The 10 Bellwether Counties That Show How Trump Is in Serious Trouble |author= David Wasserman |date= October 6, 2020 }}</ref> Between [[1888 United States presidential election in Indiana|1888]] and [[2016 United States presidential election in Indiana|2016]], it voted for the winning candidate in every election in all but two instances: [[1908 United States presidential election in Indiana|1908]] and [[1952 United States presidential election in Indiana|1952]]. In [[2020 United States presidential election in Indiana|2020]], its bellwether status came to an end when national winner [[Joe Biden]] lost the county by nearly 15 points to [[Donald Trump]].<ref name=DL/><ref name=DL2/><ref>{{Cite news|last=McCormick|first=John|date=November 13, 2020|title=Bellwether Counties Nearly Wiped Out by 2020 Election|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bellwether-counties-nearly-wiped-out-by-2020-election-11605272400|access-date=November 17, 2020|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

Obama carried [[Vigo County, Indiana|Vigo County]], home to [[Terre Haute, Indiana|Terre Haute]], and at the time a noted [[bellwether]]; before [[2020 United States presidential election in Indiana|2020]], it had voted for the winner of every presidential election all but twice since [[1892 United States presidential election in Indiana|1892]]. After 2012, political realignment and shift of white working-class voters to Trump, exodus of young people to cities and the rightward turn of exurban areas accelerated by the Trump era have made Vigo County generally uncompetitive to the present day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GALOFARO |first=CLAIRE |title=The counties that predict presidential election winners didn't this year. Just look at Terre Haute, Indiana. |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/midwest/ct-vigo-county-indiana-election-results-20201118-acloioedyrhtvadtl5ejdpsdb4-story.html |access-date=2021-01-22 |website=chicagotribune.com}}</ref>

The results in the county have often mirrored the nationwide popular vote. In every presidential election from 1960 to 2012, the county voted less than five percentage points from the national result. In 2024, Donald Trump received 58 percent of the vote which was the best result for a Republican since [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1984 who received 58.4 percent of the vote.

In statewide races for governor and the U.S. Senate, Vigo County has in recent years become more receptive to candidates from the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], even when the county had simultaneously voted for a Republican presidential victor in question. The county has gone Democratic in 9 of the last 10 gubernatorial races since 1980, and in 8 of the last 13 Senate races since that timeframe also.

Vigo is part of Indiana's [[Indiana's 8th congressional district|8th]] congressional district, which is held by Republican [[Mark Messmer]].

{{PresHead|place=Vigo County, Indiana|source1=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Atlas of US Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=May 20, 2018}}</ref>|source2=<ref>The leading "other" candidate, [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], received 4,988 votes, while Socialist candidate [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]] received 1,862 votes, [[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]] candidate [[Eugene W. Chafin|Eugene Chafin]] received 707 votes, and [[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]] candidate [[Arthur E. Reimer|Arthur Reimer]] received 144 votes.</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|23,738|16,338|947|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|24,545|18,123|1,030|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|21,937|15,931|2,259|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|19,369|19,712|924|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|18,121|25,040|723|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|20,988|18,426|330|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|18,021|17,570|637|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|15,751|17,974|4,774|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|15,834|18,050|8,277|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|21,929|19,192|172|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|26,259|18,429|285|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|24,133|19,261|3,133|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|23,555|24,684|371|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|29,730|18,898|329|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|20,814|20,328|5,522|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|19,001|27,606|144|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|24,940|25,105|133|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|25,253|24,680|135|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|25,806|25,841|231|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|19,049|25,906|609|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|21,493|24,649|81|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|23,177|29,308|199|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|17,278|33,018|442|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|18,310|25,886|991|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|22,962|18,509|497|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|19,545|12,999|4,515|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|18,668|15,739|2,707|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|8,934|11,165|2,397|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|3,103|7,256|7,701|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|10,223|10,685|1,434|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|10,327|6,625|1,380|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|7,992|7,472|559|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|8,020|7,558|94|Indiana}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|6,159|6,599|170|Indiana}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Republican|6,273|6,102|212|Indiana}}