There are just two weeks until Election Day, Nov. 5, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. How will you vote? By mail? Early in person? Election Day?
Elections have lots of rules to make them secure. Sometimes it’s confusing. But I think most of you agree that voting is worth the work to find out the hours, beat the deadlines, learn about the candidates and vote for those we think will best serve us and our vision of the future.
Does your vote really matter? You decide. In 2023, one vote determined a new Nashville Town Council member. In 2022, 37 votes out 26,000 decided the winner for District 62, Indiana State Representative for Brown County, Monroe County and part of Jackson County. The vote totals were so close, candidates asked for recounts. After the recounts, the winners didn’t change, though the margins nudged a tiny bit.
Gerrymandering is known to contribute to lower voter turnout. But increased voter turnout can reduce or eliminate the unfair impact of districts drawn to favor one party over another (gerrymandered). So, no excuses. Get out and vote. Take five friends and neighbors. Don’t wake up the day after the election and say, “Gee, I didn’t think my vote would make a difference.”
To people who say they aren’t sure they’ll vote, Linda Hanson President of the League of Women Voters Indiana notes: “This is something that’s not just your right, earned by people dying for it, but also it’s your responsibility. … Because if we’re gonna have a democracy work, it’s every one of us has to be involved.”
And, she added: “You’re paying taxes, and that tax money is going to be spent by the people you elect. Don’t you want to have a say in who’s going to make those decisions?”
What about election security?
Brown County has one of the securest methods of voting: Hand-marked paper ballots. Nationwide, nearly 70% of voting systems use hand-marked paper ballots, with ballot marking devices (like our Freedom Vote) to provide assistive devices for ballot marking where needed. Lots of research has been done showing the security and advantages of hand-marked paper ballots. Every voting system has some concerns, but hand-marked paper ballots are demonstrated to be the most effective method to ensure votes represent voter intent.
The election system is secure, even with glitches.
Every election is susceptible to glitches. But, the election process builds in lots of safety features. Federal and state law provide guidelines to keep votes and the elections secure.
In Wisconsin, in September 2024, it was announced that about 2,000 duplicate ballots were mailed out by accident. But the Wisconsin system tracks voters’ returned ballots, so no more than one ballot can be counted when returned because every ballot is assigned to a voter, and once their ballot is in, there can’t be another.
In Brown County, we too had a glitch where a small number of voters were mailed duplicate ballots. But a duplicate ballots can’t be counted. The Indiana State Voter System tracks every ballot returned, by voter, so the fail-safe is that only one ballot per voter can be counted.
Another glitch in Brown County is that some voters, up to Oct. 1st, were mailed absentee ballots that do not include State Senate Race District 44. Senator Eric Koch, (R), Indiana Senate District 44 is running unopposed for re-election. Senate district 44 includes all or parts of the following counties: Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Monroe and Orange. This error occurred only with the Brown County ballots and the ballots have now been corrected and reprinted.
Voters do not need to take any action. Any ballot missing Senate district 44 will still be counted Election Day if returned. If a voter chooses to redo their ballot, they can contact the Brown County Clerk’s office to surrender the defective ballot, complete a required form, and receive a replacement ballot. See “Press Release” on the Brown County Clerk elections website: browncounty-in.gov/268/Elections. Any defective ballot not redone by the voter will be redone by a bipartisan team to enable ballots to run through the tabulator to be counted.
What can you do to make sure your vote counts?
- Check for two clerk initials on your ballot. Look on the back of the ballot, bottom right to be sure it has two clerk initials in the boxes. If not, surrender the ballot to get a new one with two clerks’ initials. Ballots printed from the Freedom Vote Ballot Marking Device also must receive two clerks’ initials. If there is a recount, ballots with missing initials can be rejected, so they won’t count. So, check your ballot before you vote.
- Check for any extra marks on the ballot. If there is any extra mark, or you make a mistake, don’t try to erase it. Any mark other than a voting mark could void the ballot, or cause an error in tabulating the vote. Surrender any questionable ballot for a clean ballot with two clerks’ initials.
- Be sure to mark every vote carefully. Color in the oval next to the name. Make sure the mark is dark enough.
- If you vote in person, make sure your ID is current or expired after the last general election, Nov. 8, 2022. Government issued photo ID, including school ID from Indiana State schools (not private schools) qualify if they meet criteria: in.gov/sos/elections/voter-information/photo-id-law/.
- The address on your ID does not have to match the address in the poll book, but the address in the poll book should be your current address. If newly registered to vote in Indiana, you must provide proof of residence, usually two items, such as a bank statement or utility bills. Check your voter registration on IndianaVoters.com or call the clerk’s office to see if you need additional documentation. If required, It typically must be provided by end of Election Day.
- Make sure your provisional ballot counts. If you vote a provisional ballot for any reason — such as you forgot your ID – you must take steps to cure your ballot or it will not count. Provisional ballots may only count if the voter brings in missing information to the clerk’s office within the deadline. A signature question must be resolved within eight days. Most issues have up to noon 10 days after the election. But the voter must contact the clerk’s office to see what they need to bring in and by when. Many provisional ballots are rejected because the Election Board cannot determine eligibility to vote and the voter did not follow up to provide missing info. Make your ballot count!
- On Election Day, vote in your precinct. On Election Day, you must vote in the poll location assigned to your residence. Brown County has 11 precincts. Each Election Day voter must go to their assigned precinct. Check IndianaVoters.com for your Election Day polling place, or contact the county clerk’s office. The poll locations are the same as they were in the 2024 Primary Election. But, two Washington poll locations are different than they were in 2022. So check IndianaVoters.com to see where you vote for Washington 1, 2, 3; Jackson 1, 2, 3, 4; Hamblen 1, 2, 3, or Van Buren 1.
Shari Frank is president of the League of Women Voters of Brown County and a credentialed media watcher for The Brown County Democrat. Learn more about the nonprofit, nonpartisan League of Women Voters Brown County at lwv.org/local-leagues/lwv-brown-county.
