Bill would allow absentee ballots from dead voters to count

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Someone who casts an absentee ballot but dies before Election Day would still have their vote count under a proposal being considered by Indiana lawmakers.

The provision is part of a bill that the House Elections Committee took up Wednesday.

Rep. Matt Pierce of Bloomington told members about how disappointed he was when former U.S. Rep. Frank McCloskey’s absentee vote that he cast while fighting cancer didn’t count because he died before Election Day in 2004.

Pierce said that only some county clerks actively check for deaths of absentee voters.

Indiana Election Division co-director Brad King says allowing such votes could violate a state constitutional requirement that a voter live in a precinct for 30 days before an election.

The committee plans more review before acting on the proposal.