The seemingly endless campaign on the part of Indiana Republicans to make it harder for some Hoosiers to register and vote in elections manifested itself again this spring.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported recently that civic groups have sounded the alarm on a state law adopted last year that targets new U.S. citizens that weren’t born in this country.
The groups say the law could put the votes of naturalized citizens at risk amid the state’s so-called “election integrity campaign” that is aimed at those with temporary credential numbers in their voter registration documents.
HOOSIERS SHOULD remember that this “election integrity” effort is undertaken to address a problem that doesn’t exist. Voter registration and actual voting are remarkably safe processes, not only in Indiana but across the country. And efforts in recent years to ensure the process has “integrity” actually accomplish little, other than to make voting more difficult for citizens who want to participate in a crucial civic exercise.
According to the Capital Chronicle, people with temporary lawful status can obtain temporary learner’s permits, driver’s licenses or ID cards using valid visas, asylum applications, temporary protected status applications, conditional permanent residency and other documents.
Those temporary credentials can remain valid for up to six years, even if a person’s citizenship status changes. Federal and state law do not require individuals who obtained such ID cards to update their credentials or notify agencies of status changes, including if they become U.S. citizens.
THOSE STILL-VALID temporary credential numbers are putting new citizens at risk of not being allowed to cast votes because of the new state law.
Ann Gandhi, director of Midwest voting rights programs for the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, told the Capital Chronicle that U.S. citizens are erroneously being flagged as noncitizens because of the law’s flawed processes.
“And as a result, many of these eligible voters are likely to be disenfranchised in the upcoming election,” Gandhi said.
The new law, approved in 2025, requires county voter registration officials to request proof of citizenship from everyone who uses a number from one of those temporary credentials as part of their voter registration application.
PEOPLE WHO receive a notice, Capital Chronicle reports, have 30 days to provide proof — a birth certificate, U.S. passport, naturalization documentation, and so on — before their voter registration is canceled.
Evidence exists that the new law is complicating the primary election process and that some people haven’t had time to correct flagged registrations before voting. Other complications have arisen as well.
As the May 5 primary approaches, some would-be voters are in jeopardy of losing their opportunity to vote.
Voting should be easy and accessible to all eligible voters, including naturalized citizens. This new process is creating unnecessary problems and is just another example of Indiana erecting barriers that will potentially suppress voter participation.
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