The All IN for Democracy coalition met on May 30 after a period of dormancy to plan for the general election this November. Originally formed in 2015 to advocate for redistricting reform, the coalition is expanding its purview to address voter suppression in Indiana and encourage our fellow Hoosiers to participate as informed voters. Given Indiana’s bottom-five ranking by the Indiana Civic Health Index for voter participation in May’s primary election, we have a lot of work to do. Over 22 folks turned out for the meeting, representing 14 different civic and religious organizations, IFCL among them.
The Indiana General Assembly set us back with the passage of House Enrolled Act 1264 this past year and HEA 1334 in 2023. HEA 1264 imposed new voter identification requirements for obtaining an absentee ballot, possibly disenfranchising many in Marion County and other counties. Common Cause Indiana, one of the coalition leaders along with the League of Women Voters of Indiana, is researching statistical election data as a prelude to possible litigation challenging this law. Litigation is also under consideration challenging the new proof of residency requirements under HEA 1344 for voter registration.
The burdensome documentation requirements in both Acts seem to disproportionately impact younger, first-time voters and the elderly. How to inform would-be voters how to register and when and how to vote? How to energize younger folks, who are newly eligible to vote, to get engaged? The coalition is focusing on both of these questions. The League has just made available its new Citizens’ Handbook: Empowering Voters, Defending Democracy. You can scan the QR code in this link (https://lwvin.org/citizenshandbook) for an online version and share it with your Meeting and beyond. As a further aid, Common Cause, Citizens Action Coalition, and others are preparing a “best practices” tool for those trying to register voters.
The coalition is also targeting recent actions by Indiana’s Secretary of State, Diego Morales. In an effort to “blow the whistle on election interference,” his office assembled and mailed 600 spiral-bound guides this spring to local election administrators, law enforcement officers, and others, meant to “encourage threat awareness” and engage law enforcement. (For more on this, see Capital Chronicle reporting at https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2024/05/17/blow-the-whistle-indianas-top-election-official-spends-35k-on-security-guide-mailings/) The considerable cost aside ($58 to produce each guide–including whistles on lanyards–plus $12 each for shipping), this effort seems misguided to the extent it recommends bringing in law enforcement at the first sign of trouble, rather than working with election officials and volunteers to prevent and de-escalate trouble. Police presence at polling places can seem threatening to some voters and can even discourage voters worried about “trouble” from voting. The Secretary of State could address issues like election worker intimidation and political violence by pushing the General Assembly for a ban of firearms at polling places. And actually encouraging voter turnout, rather than grandstanding and fearmongering, would be a better use of Secretary of State funds and energy. The coalition will draft a letter to Secretary Morales making these points. IFCL and others will co-sign.
Finally, the summer presents a number of opportunities for coalition-sponsored events to get out the vote. Juneteenth is a good day for voter registration efforts. July 17th is the birthday of Elbridge Gerry, the father of gerrymandering. What better day for a pub crawl, focusing on registering younger voters? And September 17th is National Voter Registration Day, a natural day for a registration event. The All IN for Democracy is meeting again June 27th to look for more opportunities for joint action. Together, we can promote democracy in preparation for the coming historic election. IFCL will do what it can to help.