Indiana Kids Election program teaches voting, elections in Plainfield
The Indiana Kids Election program teaches students about voting at Plainfield HS
Long lines for early voting in Indianapolis this week prompted the Marion County Board of Elections to propose adding two additional morning hours to the township’s eight satellite early voting locations this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But the lone Republican on the Marion County Board of Elections blocked the change during a public meeting Thursday.
Jennifer Ping, the GOP member and vice chair of the Marion County Election Board, voted against adding 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the eight township polling places. At these locations, Friday, Saturday and Sunday hours will remain 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
State law requires the Board of Elections to vote unanimously to change the voting center plan. Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell and Anne O’Connor, an alternate Thursday evening for the board of elections chairman, voted in favor of the extra hours at the township locations. Sweeney Bell also proposed choosing a satellite location on the north side and a satellite location on the south side to add morning hours to this weekend, which also failed due to a “no” vote from Ping.
Sweeney Bell said the extended hours would provide more options and make it easier for voters in the run-up to Election Day, especially as some people may want to avoid downtown due to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour wrapping up its U.S. leg this weekend. The City County Building in downtown Indianapolis is open Friday, November 1 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, November 3 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“I think it’s a common sense approach to this problem of people waiting and waiting and waiting to cast their vote,” Sweeney Bell said.
Why the Republican member voted no
In remarks at the meeting, Ping said she was against extending the hours in the middle of the election and after voting had already begun. The first day of early voting in Indiana was October 8. She also highlighted the number of early voting locations in Marion County this year, which she said is the most the county has made available during a presidential election.
“In all fairness, including to everyone who is actually voting, I believe it is important not to change the rules for people who are in the middle of voting in the middle of an election,” Ping said at the meeting.
Joe Elsener, chairman of the Marion County Republican Party, also said in a statement that he considered it “wrong” to change the early voting guidelines agreed upon by Democrats and Republicans. Elsener said he advocated for two early voting locations per county in 2022, but Democrats said it would be “too much to staff.”
“While we understand that staffing is a concern and a serious challenge, we are eager to analyze the data following this election and work with our Democratic counterparts to determine what we need to do in future elections to make voting easy and more difficult. to cheat,” Elsener said.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl condemned the move in a statement, saying Indiana Republicans are becoming “experts at voter disenfranchisement.”
“This is something voters want — they don’t want to wait in line, or can’t afford it, even in the best weather,” Schmuhl said.
Where can you vote early this weekend in Marion County?
There are nine early voting locations available in Marion County this weekend. You can view the wait times for each voting location on this website, provided by the Marion County Election Board.
- Indianapolis City and County Building
- Decatur Township Government Center
- Franklin Township Government Center
- International market coalition
- MSD Lawrence Education and Community Center
- Perry Township Government Center
- St. Luke’s United Methodist Church
- Thatcher Park Community Centre
- Warren Township Government Center
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.
