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Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - "Is that really the message that members of the Indiana General Assembly want to send to voters, especially in a state with one of the lowest voter participation rates in the nation?"
The law passed last year that leaves unopposed candidates off the ballot in municipal elections (see list of earlier ILB entries) takes another hit today, this time in an Indianapolis Star editorial. The editorial continues:
Thankfully, the experiment with non-election elections may last for only one year. Leaders in both the House and Senate have vowed to repeal the law, which was pushed through the General Assembly this year.Yet that's only one step in the right direction toward improving voter turnout in Indiana. A much more significant move would be pushing back Indiana's extraordinarily early 6 p.m. closing time for polls. A 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. deadline for voting would give many voters, especially those who commute to work or who have children to pick up at schools or baby sitters, a better chance of making it to their precincts on Election Day. Many other states already close their polls one, two or even three hours later than Indiana.
A third election reform that deserves serious consideration involves opening countywide voting centers throughout much of the state. Past experiments with Election Day voting centers in Wayne and Tippecanoe counties proved quite successful. The great advantage of the centers is that they allow voters to cast ballots at locations near where they work or attend school rather than in only specific residence-based precincts.
Indiana still conducts elections pretty much the same way it has for decades. Times have changed. Voters' needs have changed. The state needs to adapt.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 9, 2011 08:46 AM
Posted to Indiana Government