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Changes Proposed to Indiana’s Mail-In Ballots
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS — Democrats and voting rights activists are objecting to a Republican-backed proposal that would require Indiana voters who request mail-in ballots to swear under possible penalty of perjury that they won’t be able to vote in person at any time during the 28 days before Election Day.

An Indiana House committee endorsed the bill 12-7 along party lines Tuesday, sending it to the full Republican-dominated House for consideration.

Proponents of the bill say an updating of the state’s mail-in ballot law to reflect the greater availability of early in-person voting over the past couple decades.

Those against the bill cited hourslong lines at early voting sites during the 2020 election and argued that the change would discourage people from selecting their most convenient way of casting a ballot under the penalty of perjury.

Indiana’s current mail-in voting limits allow people to vote by mail only if they fall into one of several categories, including being 65 or older, confined to their homes, scheduled to work throughout the 12 hours Election Day polling sites are open or being absent from their home counties on Election Day. None of those restrictions currently involve the early voting period.



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