Indiana Election Commission is debating #VoteByMail, though no vote on it is expected today (or it'll be defeated if it is).
Democratic commission member Anthony Long says there have been 37K absentee ballot applications already. At this point in 2016, there were 109.
Democratic commission member Anthony Long says there have been 37K absentee ballot applications already. At this point in 2016, there were 109.
Commission chairman Paul Okeson says the commission should await the outcome of a federal lawsuit seeking to order the state to expand #absenteeballot eligibility.
Republican board member Zach Klutz says board members didn't receive Democrats' proposed order until a couple of hours before the meeting. Democratic board member Suzannah Wilson says it largely parallels the order for the primary, with some additions she calls noncontroversial.
The board has already approved the use of an automatic envelope opener for ballots, previously approved only for Marion County.
Edit: the motion on the envelope opener is still pending awaiting a vote. They're trying to untangle the parliamentary issues of the two competing motions.
1/3 of Indiana votes in 2016 were #absenteeballots. In the June primary, with expanded absentee eligibility, it was half the votes. Matching that percentage in November, with same turnout as '16, would add about 468,000 mail-in votes.
Board members from both parties are taking pains to say they respect each other's views and don't view the debate as partisan, even though it's on track to be defeated 2-2 on party lines if a vote is held.
Long: "I cannot in good conscience tell people if they're in good health, they have to go vote in person or not vote at all."
September 14 is the deadline for #absenteeballots to be printed and delivered in three counties, but Long says they've asked the commission's Democratic co-director to study how much runway they need to meet that deadline.
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