GUEST OPINION: Exercise your right to vote however you can

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Staff Reports
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By SHARI FRANK, guest columnist

A flu pandemic didn’t stop women in 1918 from fighting for the right to vote.

Over the years, through present day, different groups have fought to make sure every United States citizen has that right. This year is the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Can you believe it took over 72 years once the campaign began in earnest? Women marched, were beaten, arrested, fed worm-infested food and worse. Women worked for the vote through the Civil War, World War I and even through the horrible flu pandemic of 1918 that killed 675,000 Americans in two waves. But women kept the vision while serving as nurses, filling jobs vacated by men in the war, and continuing to advocate for the vote through social distancing required by the flu pandemic, and finally won the right to vote in 1920.

Don’t let Granny down!

Here we are, 100 years after the 19th amendment passed, figuring out how to exercise our right to vote during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Indiana has done a lot to make it easier and safer for Hoosiers to vote.

Oct. 5 is the deadline to register to vote in the general election on Nov. 3. Primary 2020 voter registration was due May 4.

May 21 is the absentee ballot application deadline for the primary election on June 2. Applications for mail-in absentee ballots must be in the hands of election officials by May 21.

Noon June 2 is the deadline for completed absentee ballots. They must be in the hands of election officials by noon.

Check your status

You may think you’re already registered to vote. After all, you’ve voted in every election, so why bother to check it? Unfortunately, there are thousands of people removed from the voter registration rolls every couple years. Why? The rolls do need to be cleaned up to remove people who have moved or who are deceased. But, the method is not mistake-proof to identify people who legitimately need to be removed. Over 1,000 people were removed from Brown County rolls in 2019.

How can your registration be made inactive without you knowing it? A couple possibilities include:

If you have changed your mailing address, stopped using a P.O. box, or moved, the voter registration confirmation card mailed to you may have been returned undeliverable, triggering your voter registration to be made inactive.

If someone in another state has a name nearly identical to yours, you may have been removed from the voter rolls incorrectly by a software program that does find errors, but also incorrectly removes some people.

If you find your voter registration purged or not active, call the Brown County clerk’s office. Since the deadline to register to vote is nearly a month before each election, you need to check before every election registration deadline.

Vote by mail

Vote by mail is open to all Hoosiers, but you must apply by May 21 for the June 2 primary.

Indiana waived all “excuses” required for voting by mail for the 2020 primary to allow people to stay safe at home during the coronavirus pandemic. But you still need to apply for an absentee ballot. It’s a very easy application process but the application must be received before the deadline. Call the Brown County clerk’s office, or go online to indianavoters.com (voter portal) to print and mail the application, or fill the application out online by going to the voter portal, log in, scroll to the grey menu box on the left side, click “absentee voting,” then “vote by mail,” complete and submit the form. See details in a separate voter guide available online on the League of Women Voters website, lwvbrowncounty.org.

Your completed absentee ballot must be received by noon June 2 or your vote will not count. Mail it early to make sure it is received on time. Or, turn it in in person.

Before May 22, return the absentee ballot to the clerk’s office, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During early voting, starting May 26, absentee mail-in ballots can be turned in at the early voting location: Brown County Intermediate School. This is because once early voting starts, the “clerk’s office” will technically be the early voting poll location. So once early voting starts May 26, if you want to return your completed absentee ballot in person, take it to Brown County Intermediate School between May 26 and May 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or Monday, June 1, 8 a.m. to noon, or Tuesday, June 2, 8 a.m. to noon. (NOTE: The Brown County Election Board might revise this. Check with the clerk’s office for any updates on where voters can turn in absentee mail-in ballots in person.)

Want to vote in person after you already got an absentee mail-in ballot? If you change your mind, or you didn’t return your ballot by noon June 2, you can surrender your absentee ballot and vote in person at your polling place during voting hours, which on primary election day are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 2.

Vote in person

The option to vote in person is still important, especially for voters who need accommodations for hearing or vision or other challenges. ID is needed when you vote in person. Bring your driver’s license or state ID. See the LWVBC voter guide for more information or log into the Indiana voter portal for details at indianavoters.com.

All polling places are changing for the 2020 primary, including early in-person (absentee) voting May 26 to June 1; and on primary election day June 2. All households of registered voters will be mailed a notification of their new polling locations. It will be one postcard per household, so be sure to share it with all the voters in the house. Polling locations are below, or, log into indianavoters.com to find yours.

Early absentee in person voting will be available Tuesday, May 26 through Saturday, May 30 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday, June 1 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Brown County Intermediate School, 260 Schoolhouse Lane, Nashville.

Primary election day voting in person will be Tuesday, June 2 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. All polling locations are changed. Instead of 12 precincts, there will be three locations for all voters:

Hamblen Township 1, 2 and 3 vote in person at Brown County High School, 235 Schoolhouse Lane, Nashville

Jackson Township 1, 2, 3 and 4 vote in person at Brown County High School, 235 Schoolhouse Lane, Nashville

Van Buren Township 1 vote in person at: Van Buren Elementary School, 4045 State Road 135 South, Nashville.

Washington Township 1, 2, 3 and 4 vote in person at Brown County Intermediate School 260 Schoolhouse Lane, Nashville.

If you aren’t sure of your precinct, go to indianavoters.in.gov, click “voting location — find your polling place,” and enter your information to find your polling location.

Confined voters

A voter who is confined by illness, injury or disability may request to vote absentee by traveling board. The ballot will be delivered and assistance provided by a bipartisan absentee board.

A traveling board request is due between April 16 and noon June 1. Request it online at indianavoters.in.gov or call the county clerk’s office at 812-988-5510.

Before you vote

Get a sample ballot online at indianavoters.in.gov, from the county clerk’s office or at Vote411.org.

Get candidate information:

Fact-check sources of information: factcheck.org, politifact.org, snopes.com

Check voting records of U.S. representatives and senators: govtrack.us

To report a problem or ask election questions, call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

Note: Vote411.org is a League of Women Voters-sponsored and managed site. Additional sites are listed for information only and are not associated with the League.

Shari Frank is president of the League of Women Voters of Brown County.

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