Marion County election officials prepare to send out absentee ballots
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Marion County election officials are approaching a major deadline this weekend that makes voting possible for people who can’t go to the polls on election day.
Staff at the Marion County Election Board started printing and packing mail-in ballots on Wednesday.
Indiana requires counties to send out the first round of absentee ballots 45 days before an election — that’s Saturday. Officials in Marion County plan to mail them by Friday.
According to Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell, more than 10,000 people have already requested to vote by mail.
She says the process is secure.
“Bipartisan hands have to touch each of those (mail-in ballots), ” Sweeney Bell said. “Each of the mail-in ballots is supposed to have two sets of initials on the back. We have an automated system that looks for those.”
In Indiana, a voter must fall into one of 12 categories to request an absentee ballot.
Sweeney Bell says the most common reasons are being over the age of 65 or knowing you will be out of the county on election day.
This is the first general election in Indiana where voters must provide a license, state ID or Voter ID number or the last four digits of their social security number on their application. They can also instead provide a copy of a government-issued photo ID.
In Marion County, election officials urge voters to use both an ID number and the last four digits of their Social Security Number to avoid any problems.
The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Thursday, Oct. 24. Sweeney Bell says to make a plan to vote now.
“Mail-in voting … get it done on time,” Sweeney Bell said. “Elections are important, and each and every registered voter here in this county, their vote matters. They might not think that it does, but I’m the expert, and I’m telling them that it’s true: your vote matters.”
The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election is Monday, Oct. 7.
In Marion County, in-person early voting starts Oct. 8 and runs through Nov. 4 at the City-County Building. Early voters can cast their ballots at eight satellite locations starting Oct. 26.
The Marion County Elections Board is also still looking for poll workers. For more information on how to sign up, click here.
Click here for more election and voting information from the Indiana Secretary of State’s office.