INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana House bill that would further restrict absentee voting in Indiana was amended by the Senate Elections Committee on Monday to restore absentee voting to its current parameters.
House Bill 1116 would have curbed absentee vote-by-mail beyond Indiana’s limits by requiring voters to swear that they would be unable to vote the entire early, in-person voting period. Some Indiana counties allow early voting for up to 28 days before Election Day but availability varies from county to county.
Indiana law only permits voters with qualifying disabilities or Election Day conflicts to receive an absentee ballot.
The committee accepted an amendment by Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, to remove the absentee ballot language from the bill, which addresses electronic voting machines and voter verification.
Walker said the bill’s language limiting absentee voting gave him pause, since he previously had supported bills to eliminate absentee requirements because they were “unenforceable.”
“I don’t see that it provides us any more security or accountability,” Walker said. “Rather, I would say it offers some doubt and confusion.”
Walker said Marion County planned to invest $1.5 million for a system to process vote-by-mail ballots and send updates to voters upon receipt and processing.
“I see that technology resolving some of the concerns some may have regarding accuracy and accountability,” Walker said. “Absentee vote-by-mail is not going to go away. We have those who are expatriates overseas... We just don't have any other secure means by which to collect their ballot.”
The bill will require counties to adopt VPAT technology by July 2024 rather than Dec. 31, 2029. VPAT technology allows voters to receive a physical paper copy of their ballot to confirm their vote was recorded correctly.
Funding is available for counties from the state and federal government and some county clerks testified that the funding would allow them to accomplish the changes by the new date — so long as the monies remained available.
Despite the change, voting rights groups still had concerns about other bill provisions, including the requirement that people applying for an absentee ballot online share their driver’s license or last four digits of their Social Security number.
“I would like to push back on this notion that somehow the current process of applying online by mail is not secure. I don’t think we have any real evidence of that,” Julia Vaughn, the Indiana Policy Director of Common Cause Indiana, said. "I remain concerned that requiring the additional information... will cause some people to think twice and choose not to use this route to apply for an absentee ballot.
"Until we really have evidence that there's a problem, I think we should keep the status quo."
The committee voted to pass the bill 6-2, with both Democrats opposing the bill. Due to H.B. 1116’s fiscal provisions the bill moves to the Appropriations Committee.
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