On October 6, early voting began in Indiana. According to the rules, registered voters in the state can vote either absentee-by-mail or absentee-in-person if they have a disability, are 65 years old or older, or cannot make it to the polls due to work, injury, or religious discipline. From all accounts, early voting centers have been particularly busy in Democratic strongholds. Republicans, citing the potential for voter fraud, have petitioned the court to shut down these polling places.
According to the Chesterton Tribune, Lake County Superior Court Judge Diane Kavadias-Schneider, in whose courtroom the case was heard, at one point asked, “What of those who have already voted?” If you can believe it, R. Lawrence Steele, one of the GOP lawyers, replied, “Maybe those votes should be discarded.”
Kavadias-Schneider, after touring voting facilities in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, and interviewing county elections board director Sally LaSota and others, determined that safeguards against voter fraud were in place, and dismissed the case.
There was, as far as I can tell, no incident of voter fraud that instigated the Republican complaint.
Is this the kind of thing we should be expecting to see more of across the country? Unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and the urging of ballot destruction? If so, I suspect were in for one hell of a tumultuous November.
And here’s a question. Why don’t we in Michigan have early in-person voting that would make it easier for men and women to cast their ballots? Shouldn’t our goal be to ensure as best as possible that every man and woman in the state has their opportunity to vote?
2 Comments
I personally like the way it’s done in Oregon, every ballot is mailed in. However, I would miss the ritual of walking down the block to our neighborhood elementary school and seeing all of the familiar faces in line.
Exit polling of early voting in Indiana is suggesting an Obama win there, and consequently a pretty decisive victory nationwide.