Secretary Of State Offers Resolution To Defective Absentee Ballot Applications

Thursday, October 4, 2018 at 10:39 AM

By Office of the Indiana Secretary of State, news release

There may be hundreds of thousands of defective applications circulating in Indiana.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Yesterday, an attorney for the Indiana Democratic Party contacted the Secretary of State’s office acknowledging defective absentee ballot applications were mailed by the Indiana Democratic Party. There may be hundreds of thousands of these applications in circulation.

Secretary Lawson asked the co-directors of the Indiana Election Division to approve these forms to ensure voters are not disenfranchised by the party’s mistake.

“I am committed to resolving this matter as quickly as possible to avoid voter disenfranchisement,” said Secretary of State Connie Lawson. “I want to ensure all Hoosiers have their voice heard this election.”

Applications for absentee ballots are approved at the county level. If there is an issue, the county election board has jurisdiction.

Currently, we have counties that have rejected the defective ballots for not complying with state law. Secretary Lawson has worked with the co-directors of the Indiana Election Division to make an exemption for the Indiana Democratic Party’s defective applications.

If a voter received this mailing and used it to apply for an absentee ballot application, they need to check the status of their application on www.Indianavoters.com. They may need to apply for a new absentee ballot application on www.Indianavoters.com if their application has already been rejected by the county election board.

Voters with questions can call the Hoosier Voter Hotline at 866-IN-1-VOTE.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody issued the following statement after Secretary of State Connie Lawson reversed her decision to void a number of absentee ballot applications:

“We are glad the Secretary of State agrees with Hoosier Democrats that every eligible voter in Indiana should be able to freely and easily exercise their constitutional right to vote. We will continue to work toward this goal until the polls close on Tuesday, November 6."