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.