State allowing everyone to vote by mail for June primary
Supporters of a vote-by-mail system are hopeful the temporary expansion in Indiana opens the door for a permanent no-excuse policy.
Supporters of a vote-by-mail system are hopeful the temporary expansion in Indiana opens the door for a permanent no-excuse policy.
Woody Myers, a former state health commissioner and Anthem Inc. executive, said he thinks the state needs to ramp up testing significantly before considering re-opening the economy.
After unanimously approving measures that had already been agreed upon, the two Democrats on the Indiana Election Commission—Anthony Long and Suzannah Wilson Overholt—offered six amendments.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson made the decision last month to delay the primary election from May 5 to June 2 and expand the ability to cast a ballot by mail to all registered voters in an attempt to address public health concerns around voting.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody announced Tuesday that avoiding a traditional in-person convention was “the safest way” to conduct the event.
Mailing absentee ballot applications to Marion County’s nearly 650,000 registered voters is expected to cost $550,000 for the primary. The council also allocated $550,000 for the fall, in case social distancing is still being encouraged at that time.
The changes the state is making in the primary due to the coronavirus pandemic might indefinitely alter how we carry out campaigns and conduct elections going forward. Today’s alternative might become tomorrow’s norm.
Sanders planned to talk to his supporters later Wednesday.
The Indiana Election Commission on Wednesday morning voted to make casting a ballot by mail an option for all voters, along with approving several other updates to reflect the new June 2 primary election date.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, Secretary of State Connie Lawson, Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer and Democratic Party Chairman John Zody announced the agreement Friday morning.
The governor said the decision will be up to Secretary of State Connie Lawson, a Republican who oversees the Indiana Election Division.
Candidate Woody Myers on Tuesday issued his own plan for dealing with the outbreak, which includes spending some of the state’s surplus revenue and bringing state lawmakers back for a special session.
The party leaders did not suggest any delay in the May 5 primary itself.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in Indiana, the primary election season may look different than normal as candidates cancel in-person events and organizers of public forums and debates opt for no audiences.
Joe Biden’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, as well as in Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho, dealt a serious blow to Bernie Sanders and substantially widened Biden’s path to the nomination.
A resurgent Joe Biden scored sweeping victories across the country with the backing of a diverse coalition, but progressive rival Bernie Sanders seized Super Tuesday’s biggest prize, California. Meanwhile, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg called it quits.
Rivals no more, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg united behind Joe Biden’s presidential bid on Monday as the Democratic Party’s moderate wing scrambled to boost the former vice president.
In announcing his decision to drop out of the race, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg told supporters “the path has narrowed to a close for our candidacy if not for our cause.” He said he it was time “to step aside and help bring our party and country together.”
Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend who saw a meteoric rise from virtual unknown to top-tier contender and became the first gay candidate to make a high-profile presidential run, is ending his campaign.
Pete Buttigieg on Sunday vowed to stay in the race at least through Super Tuesday. His fourth-place finish in the South Carolina primary exposed a core vulnerability, namely the inability to attract the support of black voters.