Early Voting: How & Why

Photo by Elliott Stallion via Unsplash

Early voting for the May 5 primary is now underway here in Indiana.

In most counties, including Marion, early voting is now available at the county clerk’s office in the county government center, weekdays through Friday, April 24.   In Marion and many surrounding counties, multiple additional “voting centers” will then be available for nine straight days, including Saturdays and Sundays.  On Monday, May 4, early voting will only be available at the county government center from 8 AM until noon.

And then, of course, on election day most counties will have dozens of additional polling places open from 6 AM to 6 PM.  But only until 6 PM.  Before most working people can get from work to the polls. 

Which is why early voting is important.  Indiana is infamous for closing the polls on election day earlier than any other state in the union.   So we are fortunate to have so many options to vote before election day, including voting by mail (more on that in a moment).  There were multiple attempts earlier this year in the Indiana legislature and in Washington DC to cut back on our early voting options, but they all failed, and for now we can still take advantage of the flexibility.

And that does include voting by mail, which is also still available to us for now, in spite of several efforts to limit or eliminate it.

If you want a mail-in ballot, you have until April 23 to request one.  You can do that here:  Secretary of State: Voter Information: Absentee Voting

And don’t be intimidated by the regulations.  There is a long list of qualifications that you are supposed to meet to be eligible to vote by mail.   But anyone over the age of 65 is eligible.  And anyone who can claim that they have to work on election day is eligible.  And, trust us, NO ONE IS GOING TO CHECK.  Across the country, county clerks’ offices have been gutted by budget cuts for fifty years.  No one is going to call your employer to confirm that you can’t leave the office before 5:30 on election day!

But, on the other hand, there are enough other options for early voting that it might be smart to avoid the dangers of mail-in voting altogether. 

So that is HOW to vote early this spring.  Now, WHY vote early?

The best reason to vote early in the spring primary is BECAUSE YOU CAN.  Do it as PRACTICE, for this fall.  But don’t do it until you are ready.

Because you really do need to spend extra time this spring studying who is running in your primary, whichever party you support.

The fact is, Indiana has more candidates running for office, particularly on the Democratic side, than at any time since the post-Watergate election 50 years ago.   This includes a number of first-time or otherwise unfamiliar progressive candidates who are running grassroots campaigns and rejecting corporate and PAC contributions.  You may not have seen them on TV ads or billboards.  So don’t vote early and just vote for the most familiar names on the ballot.  Take advantage of the time to do your homework, and then vote as soon as you are ready.

But, again, the best reason to vote early is BECAUSE YOU CAN, and we should all do it to get comfortable with the process now, because this fall it will be ESSENTIAL.

It is important to establish a baseline of early voters, that can be counted and reported every day, to counter any later false charges of “voter fraud.”  If hundreds of thousands of votes are cast here in Indiana, day by day throughout April; and millions are cast around the country in spring primaries, that will provide baseline evidence to counter future false accusations of “millions of fake ballots” showing up at the last minute.

No one expects primary election day in Indiana on May 5 to be disrupted.  General election day in November is a different story.  It is very likely that the November 3 general election is going to see polling places disrupted, officially by ICE agents, or unofficially by Proud Boys and other right-wing militia organizations. 

So, this FALL, we should all be prepared to vote early at the very first available opportunity, to make sure our vote is counted, and to be free to help others vote before election day.  And this spring is a good time to get familiar with the options. 

Next week:  The incredible importance of voting in the primary of your choice this spring!  (Spoiler alert:  two years ago, in many counties, SEVENTY PERCENT of previous Democratic voters crossed over to vote in Republican primaries in an effort to stop Mike Braun and Jim Banks.  It didn’t work.  But it caused national Democratic funders to ignore Indiana candidates, and it later allowed Indiana Democratic parties to reject the candidacies of hundreds of worthy candidates.   And the same thing has been true in the past for Republicans who crossed over to sabotage Clinton or Obama.  Just … don’t do it!)