Voter Advocates Call for IEC to Endorse Changes to Ensure a Safe and Accessible Primary Election Where All Votes Cast are Counted

Indianapolis — Today, Common Cause Indiana, Indiana Vote By Mail, and the League of Women Voters of Indiana sent a joint letter to the Indiana Election Commission, praising them for beginning “to create an environment that will ensure the safety of Indiana voters, poll workers, and election staff for our primary election.” But, the organizations called on the IEC to do more to ensure that all Hoosiers will be able to not only easily and safely cast their ballot in the upcoming election but to also have confidence their vote will be counted.

Specifically, the groups urged the Commission to:

• Extend access to “no-excuse” absentee voting to all voters in the general election, as well as the primary
• Send all registered voters an absentee ballot by mail, with the state covering those costs (as opposed to requiring all voters to apply for an absentee ballot)
• Clarify how the signature match process to verify voter identity will be done
• Provide rules for the efficient counting of a significantly larger number of mail-in ballots

Linda Hanson, Co-President of the League of Women Voters of Indiana said, “We recognize that this will be a challenging year for everyone involved in elections and we stand united in our belief that Indiana’s electorate deserves every opportunity to vote, and to have confidence in the voting process. We believe the suggestions in our letter to the Commission further that cause.”

“We appreciate that the Governor, the Secretary of State and now the Indiana Election Commission have taken action to protect Hoosier voters,” stated Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana Policy Director. “Because many Hoosiers will be voting in an unfamiliar process, election administrators need to do everything possible to ensure this new system, that incentivizes voting by mail, will not end up disenfranchising people because they miss deadlines or have their ballot rejected for administrative reasons.”

Barbara Tully, President of Indiana Vote by Mail said, “Voting is a fundamental civil right, a right that should be regarded as sacred and must always be protected under all circumstances. We want to impress upon the Indiana Election Commission the need for this State to move to a more robust framework for election administration to help keep voters, poll workers, and election administration staff healthy and safe.”

To read the letter, click here.