Appeal seeks absentee voting for more Hoosiers who are disabled, their caregivers

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Efforts to expand access to absentee voting by mail to more Hoosiers with disabilities are continuing after a federal judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction.

Hoosiers with certain disabilities have access to absentee voting by mail or travel boards, but several people have joined together to ask the court to extend that access to any Hoosier who is disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as their caregivers.

“The good news is that we found out this morning that the plaintiffs filed a notice to appeal,” said Morgan Daly with the Indiana Statewide Independent Living Council on Tuesday.

The council is one of five agencies in the push to expand absentee voting for more disabled people. They argue Hoosiers with disabilities should have full access to “no-excuse” absentee voting because of the coronavirus.

• Indiana among 9 states requiring reason to cast absentee ballot
• Federal judge: Indiana’s lack of ‘no-excuse’ voting by mail is constitutional

In Indiana, these are the reasons that Hoosiers may request absentee voting by mail:

• You have a specific, reasonable expectation that you will be absent from the county on Election Day during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open (6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Nov. 3).
• You have a disability.
• You are at least 65 years of age.
• You will have official election duties outside of your voting precinct.
• You are scheduled to work at your regular place of employment during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.
• You will be confined due to illness or injury or you will be caring for an individual confined due to illness or injury during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.
• You are prevented from voting because of a religious discipline or religious holiday during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.
• You are a participant in the state’s address confidentiality program.
• You are a member of the military or a public safety officer.
• You are a “serious sex offender” as defined in Indiana Code 35-42-4-14(a).
• You are prevented from voting due to the unavailability of transportation to the polls.

Indiana also offers absentee voting by travel boards for these reasons:

• The voter expects to be confined, due to illness or injury, or the voter expects to be caring for a confined person at a private residence, on Election Day.
• The voter is a voter with disabilities and believes their polling place is not accessible to them.
• The voter is physically unable to complete the ballot and sign the affidavit on their own.

The judge’s ruling last week said expanded mail-in voting may be a good choice for Indiana, but added, “The question here, however, is not whether the policy is wise, but whether it is constitutional.”

U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon said the voters who filed the lawsuit “have not shown a reasonable likelihood of success in showing that the policy is unconstitutional.”

Some advocates say an extension of the reasons for mail-in absentee voting would also be beneficial for Hoosier voters with compromised immune systems. “People with disabilities are disproportionately at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. They say 46% of Indiana deaths have been folks at nursing facilities, which is largely folks with disabilities of aging,” Daly said.

“It’s very scary because the clock is ticking. We need to see something happen,” Daly said. “Otherwise we are at risk of our people with disabilities not being able to to vote and may be their family members and caregivers as well.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb has said he would not back a blanket “no-excuse” voting. However, advocates said, they’ll be reaching out to other government agencies.

To vote absentee by mail, Indiana residents must complete an application. The application to request a vote-by-mail ballot must be received by the person’s county clerk’s office no later than 11:59 p.m. Oct. 22.