Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Straight ticket vote not so straight under new Indiana law

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By JEFF SCHULTZ

A new law aimed at fixing a glitch in the way voting machines count ballots is alarming a few local officials concerned it could cause a new set of problems.

Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 61, signed by Governor Mike Pence on March 21, states that when a voter decides to vote straight-ticket, offices in which more than one candidate can be elected -- at-large races -- will not get counted automatically.

Straight-ticket voters can still vote for at-large candidates, but must do so separately.

Porter County Council at-large candidates Sylvia Graham and Dan Whitten told the Chesterton Tribune last week they are concerned that straight-ticket voters will not be aware of the new process when they go the polls and end up not voting for at-large races, which could greatly affect the outcome.

Whitten called the new law a “boondoggle” and condemned it as a “complete deception on the voters.”

“They wouldn’t realize their vote is being diluted,” he said.

Graham said that candidates need to educate voters about the law, which goes into effect on July 1.

Since this spring’s primary elections are on May 3, the new law won’t impact those elections. But it will affect the general elections in November, Graham noted, adding that even though it’s more than seven months away, it’s not too early to begin informing the voters of the changes the law will bring.

“We’re all very concerned about this,” Graham said.

SEA 61 does however give local election boards the options of including instructions on the front of the ballot or posting them inside voting booths.

Election Board President David Bengs told the Tribune the board is looking the matter over and has asked its attorney Ethan Lowe to research the new law and give his recommendation to the board.

The law is a matter of concern to both parties as every vote makes a difference, Bengs said, as in last year’s town elections which saw two races tie -- one of which was the Chesterton Town Council 4th Ward race between Republican Nathan Cobbs and Democrat Scott McCord.

This year there is an at-large race for Porter County Council with three seats up for election. Voters will need to decide between three Republican and three Democratic candidates.

Voters in the Duneland School Corporation will have an at-large race for school board. However, all voters will need to vote for those individually since that is a non-partisan race.

Voters Registration Democratic Director Kathy Kozuszek said it will not be an easy task to ask those who vote straight-ticket about voting individually for at-large races as large handful of them neglect to read instructions when they go to mark the ballot.

“They fill in the oval and they think they are done,” she said, adding that one of the main reasons people vote straight ticket is for speed and efficiency.

It doesn’t help is that the at-large races are on the back side of the ballot, making it less noticeable to voters, Kozuszek and Graham said.

The Voters Registration office is expecting a large turnout this year given there is the high-profile presidential race as there was in 2008, Kozuszek said. In Porter County’s 2008 general elections, 15,814 Democrats, 12,064 Republicans and 333 Libertarians voted straight ticket out of 112,811 voters.

Kozuszek said she hopes the state election officials step up voter education more than they have in the past.

 

Posted 3/31/2016

 
 
 
 

 

 

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