INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian attended the Election Study Meeting hosted by the Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday. She listened to Hoosier voters and advocated for them to have more options and ease in casting their ballot, no matter where they live or how they vote.
“As more counties switch to vote centers across Indiana, we must make sure they are located in places convenient for the largest number of voters possible, that voters have adequate transportation options in reaching the polls, and that early voting and Election Day hours are extended to allow Hoosiers to cast a ballot after work or school. The presentation on vote centers did not account for how long people had to stand in line. Every election year, we are the first state to have our polls close at just 6 PM local time, which forces thousands in our state to have to battle rush hour traffic in order to cast a vote. One common sense change we can make is to extend this to 7 or 8 PM to give Hoosiers more time to reach their polling place.
“Additionally, no county should be forced by the state to implement a vote center plan if it is not what the voters of that county want. In many rural communities, voters have cast a ballot at the same location for generations, and moving locations can harm those voters.
“With regard to odd-numbered municipal election years, it should be noted that towns can already move their elections to even-numbered years, and some have done so.
“Larger cities should not have such a major change forced upon them by the state. Moving these local elections will lead to further nationalization of our local politics at a time when it is increasingly important that these local elections be decided on local issues. Further, with the addition of school board races and city elections, ballots could be significantly longer and more confusing.
“It’s time to put Hoosiers back in charge of their own elections. That means expanding polling hours and transportation options for Election Day and early voting.
“Lastly, I encourage the Secretary to look at a map of our state. The “northern” area meeting for this study occurred in Muncie, which is a three hour drive and a time zone away from the people of Northwest Indiana. Muncie doesn’t qualify as ‘northern’ Indiana.”
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