With Election Day coming up Nov. 6, registered voters have the option to skip the lines.
Early voting is a form of absentee voting that takes place in person at a County Clerk’s office in a voter’s registered county. In all 92 counties in Indiana, County Clerk’s offices offer in-person early voting leading up to Election Day.
Kaitlyn Landers, co-commissioner in Delaware County, said the majority of people who vote early are poll workers. The amount of college students that take advantage of in-person early voting is small in Delaware County, she said.
Angie Nussmeyer, a co-director at the State House, said college students have multiple options when it comes to voting if they are registered. The student voting process is dependent on the address in which they are registered to vote, so a college student should not be registered to vote in their hometown and college town.
If a student is registered to vote in Delaware County, they may vote early at the Delaware County Clerk’s office, she said.
The Delaware County Clerk office, located at at 100 W Main, has an election room where in-person absentee voting occurs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Additionally, the office will be open Saturday, Nov. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last day to early vote is Nov. 5, though the office will close at noon.
“If they kept their registration at home or wherever they lived in the state of Indiana, they have a couple of options available,” Nussmeyer said. “If they go home to visit their family and the Clerk’s office has early voting available to them, they can go and take advantage of that in-person absentee.”
However, she said most students will vote by mail. If students choose this route, Nussmeyer said they should be sure to return their ballots to their county election board no later than noon on Election Day.
Because a fair amount of people vote early, Nussmeyer said the strain on polls is lessened on Election Day.
“It takes a lot of strain off of polling locations, strain of off poll workers and makes the process a lot more smooth for people who are voting on Tuesday, Nov. 6,” Nussmeyer said. “Also, the 28 days of early voting in the Clerk's office, as well as the option to vote by mail and travel board makes voting convenient for all voters in the state.”
Contact Pauleina Brunnemer with comments at pdbrunnemer@bsu.edu or on Twitter @pauleina15.
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