GOP Seeks Extra Scrutiny of Early/Absentee Ballots in Marion County (Indianapolis)

What region is affected? (City, County, State)
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
What voters would be affected?The 93,000 absentee ballots that will be cast before election day, both mail-in and in person. In 2004, there were less than 28,000 absentee ballots in Marion County.
How would tactic suppress votes?
The request for "extra scrutiny" of absentee ballots exposes all of the in-person early votes to the possibility of being set aside as provisional ballots. The Republicans want all challenges to absentee ballots to result in provisional ballots and charged that the process planned by the election board to immediately resolve some challenges by a majority vote of the precinct election board violates state law.

Unlike mail-in absentee ballots, in-person early voting requires a voter to produce an ID, and their voter registration and signature are checked. (The Clerks office has also been attempting to contact mail-in absentee voters to make corrections so that their ballots would not be discarded. ) Those early voting ballots are placed in absentee ballot envelopes and grouped with the mail-in absentee ballots for delivery to the polls on election day. (According to the Indiana Election Day handbook, counties had a choice of counting absentee ballots centrally or distributing them to the polls on election day for counting.) So although the Republicans argued their case around mail-in absentee ballots, all absentee ballots could be impacted.

Democrats argue that the Republicans are laying the groundwork for mass challenges to disenfranchise voters.
The Marion County GOP says no mass challenges are planned and that few or no ballots are likely to be challenged.


On October 31, Republican Marion County Circuit Judge Theodore Sosin issued an order supporting the GOP's lawsuit stating that challenged absentee ballots should be set aside as provisional ballots. His order only pertains to mail-in ballots and he said the Election Board should attempt to notify voters. However mail-in absentee ballots are mixed with the in-person absentee ballots. Marion County Clerk Beth White said they would comply with the order and make every attempt to make sure all legitimate votes are counted. White also said the election board would go to the Indiana Court of Appeals.

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Who is behind it?Marion County Republicans
Links to media/blog coverage? (provide headline with link, writer, name of outlet/blog and publication date. try to list most recent at top)
Possible laws violated?
    • From the Indianapolis Star:

      The dispute between the Republicans and the Election Board centers on conflicting readings of Indiana law.The statute does not fully spell out when absentee challenges should be handled or by whom, but it refers to the provisional voting process used when a walk-in voter's residency or eligibility is challenged.In concurring opinions, two Supreme Court justices noted the law's murkiness."Thus, on the one hand the statute suggests that a challenged vote must be treated as a provisional ballot and counted later if at all, while on the other hand a challenged absentee vote must be counted at the precinct polling place so long as the affidavit shows the voter is a legal voter of the precinct," Justice Robert D. Rucker wrote. "These provisions are at least ambiguous and at most simply irreconcilable."
What's the last known status?On October 31, Marion County Circuit Judge Theodore Sosin issued an order stating that challenged absentee ballots should be set aside as provisional ballots. Although his order was reportedly to only apply to mail-in ballots, that was not clear in the order according to the Election Board, and the in-person (early voting) absentee ballots are not separated from the mail-in absentee ballots when they are delivered to the polls on election day for counting. (When voters vote in-person absentee ballots, their IDs and voter registration are checked.) Marion County Clerk Beth White says their office will comply with the order and make every effort to see that all legitimate votes are counted, but would also seek to have the order repealed.

Update 11//3/08: The Election Board filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals seeking an emergency stay just before midnight and, along with the GOP, filed briefs on the morning of Monday, November 3. The Marion County GOP asked the Indiana Supreme Court to take the case on an emergency basis.

Update 11/3/08: Late in the day, the Indiana Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals ruling and upheld Judge Sosin's order: challenged absentee ballots will be set aside as provisional ballots.
What actions can be taken?
  • Absentee ballot voters can contact the Marion County Election Board after election day and see if their ballot was set aside as provisional.

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indyandi
indyandi 		Latest page update: made by indyandi , Nov 4 2008, 9:18 AM EST (about this update About This Update indyandi updated with info from today's Indpls Star article - indyandi

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