To the editor:
In the March 21 edition of The Democrat, Julie Winn and Shari Frank of the Brown County League of Women Voters shared a good deal of helpful voting information through a letter to the editor.
As a member of the Brown County Election Board, I would like to address one area of that information that I think may have given not wrong but rather incomplete information to voters — the section of that letter titled “Not Democrat or Republican?” “Did you know you can vote in the primary even if you don’t consider yourself affiliated with either party? Indiana law allows people to request either a Democrat or Republican ballot to vote in the primary.”
First, a quick review of the “primary” election. This election is genuinely the parties’ election, allowing their party members to choose who will be on the general election ballot in the fall. In states with “closed” primary elections, you are required to choose a political party when you register to vote. During their primary races you are only allowed to have the ballot of the party to which you are registered.
In Indiana when you register to vote, the process does just that — register you. Party affiliation is not determined until you tell the poll clerks which ballot you want — Democrat or Republican. It is noted at that time which ballot you chose and as the LWV letter mentioned, that political affiliation can be referenced when you apply for an appointed office or run for office in the future.
Also, you can be challenged at the polls by a poll watcher who believes you to be affiliated with the opposition party. If the voter executes and signs the “Affidavit of Challenged Voter” portion of the PRE-6 form, they are provided with a regular party ballot. In signing that form, the voter promises to vote in the general election for the candidates of the political party on the ballot he pulled in the primary election. Does anyone know how you vote in the general election? No. In taking the primary ballot of a political party, you are promising to vote for their candidates in the fall.
Indiana Election Code 3-10-1-6 addresses who may vote in a primary:
1) if the voter, at the last general election, voted for a majority of the regular nominees of the political party holding the primary election; or,
2) if the voter did not vote at the last general election, but intends to vote at the next general election for a majority of the regular nominees of the political party holding the primary election.
We call it the “honor system” because we don’t know who a voter voted for in the last general election or who the voter will vote for in the next general election.
So keep this in mind when you request a Democrat or Republican ballot this spring. Are you prepared to vote for a majority of that party’s candidates in the fall? In taking their primary ballot, you’ve made a promise.
Susanne Gaudin, Brown County Election Board
Send letters to [email protected] by noon Thursday before the date of intended publication (noon Wednesday on holiday weeks). Letters are the opinions of the writer. Letters must be signed by the author and include the writer’s town of residence and a contact number in case of questions. Only one letter every two weeks, per writer, to allow for diversity of voices in the opinions section. Please be considerate of sharing space with other letter-writers and keep your comments concise and to the point. Avoid name-calling, accusations of criminal activity and second- and third-hand statements of “fact.”
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Letters to the editor written by or about candidates in the 2018 election will only be accepted through Thursday, April 19 for printing in the April 25 paper. No letters concerning election candidates or issues will appear in the May 4 issue, which is the issue immediately preceding the election. Send letters to [email protected].
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