Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson is not in favor of extending the deadline for mail-in ballots to make it back to county clerk’s offices, in spite of concerns that thousands of votes could go uncounted. “There are 92 counties in this state, and we cannot change deadlines because somebody is too busy or whether it’s lack of preparation of getting the work done,” Lawson said during state officials’ COVID-19 press conference Friday. “So deadlines are there for security and accountability.”
Almost 580,000 Hoosiers have requested mail-in ballots for the primary, and the Marion County clerk in particular has expressed concern with getting them out to voters and back again on time. Generally, absentee ballots have to be received by noon on Election Day in order to be counted.
Lawson acknowledged that there have been mail processing issues that are beyond election officials’ control. “I encouraged people not to wait until the last minute to request that absentee ballot,” she added. “A lot of people did.”
If you’ve gotten a mail-in ballot but haven’t sent it back to the county clerk’s office yet, you may hand-deliver it prior to Election Day. Additionally, you can take the absentee ballot to a polling place, fill out a form, and vote in-person, instead. Polls are open tomorrow from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time.
