If Hoosiers are safely leaving their homes to go to work and school, shop in stores, and eat in restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Eric Holcomb believes there's no reason they can't also vote in person on or before Election Day.
The Republican chief executive last week said he does not support making mail-in absentee balloting available to all registered voters for the general election due to COVID-19, even though a record 500,000 Hoosiers participated that way in the June 2 primary election.
"Folks need to understand that it is safe to vote," Holcomb said. "Indiana will have a safe and secure and healthy, in-person election on Nov. 3."
Holcomb said unlike the primary election, which was moved from May 5 due to the pandemic and took place while Hoosiers were living under a modified stay-at-home order, most of Indiana now is open for business and there's no need for expanded mail-in voting.
"There are a lot of people out and about, whether its working or going to the grocery or doing your lives, and they're doing it safely. And we can vote safely in person as well," Holcomb said.
The governor pledged Indiana polling places will be well stocked with personal protective equipment for election officials and voters, just as they were for the primary, and Hoosiers concerned about crowds can cast an in-person absentee ballot at early voting sites up to 28 days before Election Day.
"I don't know of a single case where someone got COVID-19 while voting at one of our polling sites on (primary) Election Day," Holcomb said.
Holcomb said mail-in voting still will be available to Hoosiers who affirm they meet at least one of the 11 statutory excuses to qualify for a mail-in absentee ballot, including being "confined due to illness or injury," which the governor said potentially could include people who are concerned about COVID-19 infection.
"If you're asking me, legally, what does it mean to be confined, or who confines, we'll address that," Holcomb said, while noting a lawsuit is pending against the state that seeks to make mail-in voting more widely available.
"I want to hear back on that before we start to entertain different language," he said.
Mail-in still available
Under Indiana law, mail-in voting also is available to people who will be away from their home county on Election Day; people who are disabled; older than 65; serving as a poll worker; at a regular job when polls are open; celebrating a religious holiday; participants in the address confidentiality program; serving in the military or as a public safety officer; classified as a "serious" sex offender; or lacking transportation to the polls.
Voters must swear they qualify under one of those excuses to apply for a mail-in ballot. However, county election officials traditionally have not taken any action to verify voters' claims.
Governor rejected the assertion that his opposition to "no excuse" mail-in voting stems from Republican President Donald Trump's unfounded allegations of widespread election fraud associated with mail-in balloting
In fact, Holcomb acknowledged there have been no recent incidents of significant absentee voting fraud in the Hoosier State.
"That's not what's driving our thought process whatsoever," Holcomb said. "I have a lot of confidence in, not just our Election Commission, but county by county, 92 counties, pulling off our elections."
"What I want to make sure is that our system can handle the volume along the way."
Holcomb said having Hoosiers vote in person also will ensure election results are tallied in a timely manner, instead of having to wait for bipartisan election judges in each county to match voter signatures, open and affirm the validity of each and every mail-in ballot before beginning to count them.
"We call it Election Day, not election month. And I hope, as we work on this front, that we'll get that right going into Nov. 3, and we will," Holcomb said.
Groups demand 'no excuse'
The governor's opposition to making mail-in balloting available to all voters due to COVID-19 has been condemned by numerous advocates for voting rights and good government, including Indiana Vote By Mail, Common Cause Indiana, the League of Women Voters, Vote Safe Indiana, Women4Change Indiana and the Indianapolis NAACP.
They said Friday if it's too dangerous to run the Indianapolis 500 auto race this month with fans in attendance at an outdoor speedway, it's wrong to cram Hoosiers into poorly ventilated voting sites in November, with limited space for social distancing and no enforcement of the governor's mask-wearing order.
"Why is the state forcing voters to choose between this fundamental right and our health and safety?" they ask. "Voters should not have to choose between voting in person or not voting at all. They should have the choice between voting in person or voting by mail."
Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, recently demanded the governor call the General Assembly into special session to enact a law allowing any registered voter to cast their ballot by mail, and eliminate the excuse requirement for doing so.
"Cases are continuing to go up, yet the governor still thinks it's safe for vulnerable Hoosiers to go to the polls," Lanane said.
"Why wouldn't we want to give all Hoosiers the option to safely vote absentee during this pandemic? Why are the governor and secretary of state so reluctant to let Indiana voters do what 78% of Americans are allowed to do during this November election?"
Indiana is likely to be among about just a half-dozen states where mail-in voting is limited this year.
Nearly every other state that doesn't already conduct their entire election by mail is allowing all of its voters to participate by mail due to COVID-19.
Dr. Woody Myers, the Democratic nominee for Indiana governor, condemned Holcomb for putting Hoosier lives at risk.
"Denying Hoosiers the right to vote in a safe manner is simply without moral or scientific compass," Myers said. "Voting is the hallmark of our society and we should be able to vote safely with no excuse absentee voting, just as we did in June."