Dems work to boost voting by mail in primary
Holcomb says he awaits guidance from Indiana Election Commission
The Indiana Democratic Party is fundraising for information campaigns so voters know they can request absentee voting mail applications to vote in the June 2 primary election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 20, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that the state’s primary election will be moved from May 5 to June 2 because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. About a week later, the Indiana Election Commission approved new rules for the primary, including that every registered voter can cast an absentee ballot by mail “without having a specific reason to do so,” like is normally required.
“For the first time, every single Hoosier voter can vote by mail in the June 2 primary election, if they choose. That’s huge because Hoosiers shouldn’t have to put their health at risk to exercise their right to vote,” according to an email from the Indiana Democratic Party.
On Thursday, Holcomb said he has been in “constant contact” with the Indiana Secretary of State, who has been in contact with the heads of the state’s Republican and Democratic parties, regarding primary voting. He said the Indiana Election Commission will make recommendations in the coming weeks.
“I’m waiting for them to make a specific recommendation on how we can safely and securely carry out not just our June 2 but our November election,” Holcomb said.
Lake County Republican
Chairman Dan Dernulc said that for the June 2 primary, there is “every opportunity for people to vote” either through early voting or absentee.
But, Dernulc said he is concerned with staffing issues to count the influx of ballots due to the pandemic. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines of social distancing, the county “can only have so many people in a room.”
“I’m not in favor of an all-mail election,” Dernulc said.
Porter County Republican Chair Michael Simpson said that the party is starting to inform residents about voting absentee by mail, especially for those who are elderly or “health conscious.”
But, Simpson also said he would not support an all-mail election, because of the potential for fraudulent voting.
“I see a lot of pitfalls there,” Simpson said. “The Indiana system hasn’t been designed that way.”
Lake County Democratic Party Chair James Wieser said he is “100% behind” an information
campaign to inform voters.
“I think you’re going to see a dramatic increase in the number of applications with the pandemic,” Wieser said.
While Wieser said he agrees that staffing could become an issue to count the ballots, he is also confident the county can handle that task. He added that hiring additional staff to count the ballots is “an expense I know we can absorb.”
Wieser also acknowledged that it could take longer to get results if more mail-in ballots have to be counted, but it’s important that people vote.
“I would much rather have people vote and cause a delay than not voting at all,” Wieser said.
Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Director Michelle Fajman said informing voters about being able to vote by mail without stating a reason, like is usually required, is important.
“We want to let (voters) know there’s a change. There’s a change in date and in the application,” Fajman said.
As of Thursday, the election office has mailed out 3,898 ballots, of which 1,165 have been mailed back, Fajman said. That means the county has surpassed the amount of ballots it mailed out in the 2016 primary election, which was 3,797, she said.
In the 2008 primary election, the county mailed out 5,386 ballots, Fajman said.
“We will pass that, at this point in time,” Fajman said, pointing out the current primary election is still about two months away.
As of Thursday, Porter County had mailed out 3,399 vote-by-mail applications, of which 2,278 have been completed and approved, said Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey.
The county has issued 2,246 ballots, of which 484 have been returned, Bailey said.
“We have done a lot to educate and inform our public about absentee voting,” Bailey said. “We’re trying to push it as much as we can.”