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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA volunteer tech group is trying to make voting a bit more convenient through a website that provides estimated polling location wait times.
The Indiana Vote Times website, at Indyvotetimes.org, offers wait times for polling locations in Marion, Hamilton, Boone and Vigo counties. It has provided wait times since early voting started.
The website’s accuracy is dependent on crowdsourced data. While waiting, voters can check in online and provide estimates on the number of people joining them in line.
“This feels like a no-brainer tool that every Hoosier should have,” said Roger Deetz, CEO and founder of nonprofit IN Tech for Progress
Nonprofit IN Tech for Progress and three partners initially launched the website in 2020 to help voters more safely and confidently head to the polls during the pandemic. The site attracted 60,000 users and demonstrated Hoosiers wanted a tool like this, Deetz said.
“There were some really awesome stories of folks that were waiting in line and said, ‘Hey, I had to arrange transportation or had to arrange childcare, and it was really important to me to have an estimate for how long [voting] took,’” he said.
The 2020 election cycle also showed areas for improvement. Since then, Deetz and his team have completely revamped the website and expanded beyond Marion County. The original operation also depended on staff volunteers staking out at polling places.
The redesign will allow the nonprofit to scale the number of counties it serves, Deetz said, with the goal of hitting all 92. Each of the three counties offered by the tool this election allow residents to vote at any of its polling locations, so Deetz said they targeted those counties first.
“Our vision would be to put this in the hands of the entire state as soon as we can,” he said. “Meet people where they are in the digital age to give them mobile digital tools to make this super easy for everyone.”
Early voting began Oct. 8, and Election Day is Nov. 5.
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