Voting in Indiana
By: Sam Barrett
Recently, it was National Voter Registration Day and today marks the start of National Voter Education Week. Indiana currently has 4.7 million Hoosiers registered to vote, however, the voices of communities, counties, cities, school districts, and more continue to get divided, and minorities especially are not getting the representation they deserve. It’s always important to stay educated and up to date on Indiana’s voting rights and practices, especially while things like redistricting, voting, registration, and more are going on in Indiana. It is crucial to keep the public informed and believe in fair districts and representation for all Hoosiers.
If you don’t know, redistricting is the process of redrawing district maps after the census to equalize the populations of congressional and legislative districts. Gerrymandering is the act of rigging the districts to sway the outcome of an election toward the party in power. The partisan perspective that districts are sometimes drawn with leads to communities, school districts, cities, and more divided. This can sometimes be racially targeted, which results in racial discrimination and unfair representation. Communities are unable to make an impact this way, and often voter turnout is small compared to what it could or should be. Low voter turnout and uncompetitive districts lead to important laws and bills being once again ignored; in Indiana, there is still no legal definition of consent and it’s not legally required for employers to pay employees equally no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, etc. Things like this matter and people should be able to make their voices heard about topics that have an impact on their lives.
Not only is the redistricting process unfair, but legislatures have been hindering communities and minority voters through more than just redistricting. Lack of polling locations and poll workers is a problem across the United States, with no exception for Indiana. During the 2020 General Election in Marion County, where a high percentage of Indiana’s Black citizens reside, there were only six early voting locations for more than 650,000 registered voters. In neighboring Hamilton county, there were eight early voting locations for around 260,000 registered voters. Increasing the number of poll locations is parallel with voter turnout. Mail-in ballots are also inaccessible for many right now. Allowing voters to send in their ballots would be a great convenience for many groups of people and most likely increase voter turnout. Many Hoosiers would find mail-in ballots more accessible and convenient, specifically marginalized groups like people with disabilities, working or single parents, and more.
We continue to advocate for fair districts and independent redistricting commissions because we believe that all communities should have their voices heard, and it should not be difficult to vote or make your way out to the polls. The John R Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act revalidates an enforcement mechanism that prevents states from making changes to voting laws and practices if they have a history of voting discrimination. We believe that everyone should be given a fair opportunity to vote and feel represented in their state, country, or community. We not only stand for changing the current redistricting process, but also more poll locations and workers, wider time slots for Election Days, employer recognition of Election Days, and most importantly no more voter discrimination and political party bias redistricting. Everyone must have fair representation so that we can get out there and start voting on important issues!