INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana News Service) - Indiana lawmakers killed a proposal to shorten early in-person voting across the state.
House Bill 1359 would have cut Indiana’s early voting period from 28 days to 16 days before Election Day. Senators inserted the change in the Indiana Senate Elections Committee without hearing testimony from local election officials or the public.
Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, pushed back during committee debate.
“I’m very concerned that this is a reverse of a good policy that does not give political advantage,” Qaddoura stated. “Republicans and Democrats will be able to continue to vote. But it just makes it more convenient to vote, and I will always be on the side of making it more convenient.”
Opponents argued lawmakers would squeeze thousands of voters into fewer days and limit flexibility for working families. Supporters said Indiana’s 28-day window places the state on the high end nationally. They argued a shorter period would cut election administration costs and still allow weekends for early voting.
Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, the committee chair, added the provision and defended it as a compromise.
“I’m of the opinion that the shorter period is a compromise between folks that do have concerns about election integrity with a longer period of early voting,” Gaskill explained. “It still puts us kind of in the middle of the pack of what other states do.”
Senate leaders never called the bill for a floor vote. Rep. Todd Huston, R-Pendleton, the Speaker of the House, said he feels comfortable with Indiana’s current election laws. Lawmakers floated a similar proposal last year but they never brought it to the Senate floor after it failed to secure enough support.
Joe Ulery wrote this article.
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