Published: October 02, 2008 03:36 pm            

Flashpoint: Things you need to know as Election Day nears

As the general election of 2008 nears, the League of Women Voters of Vigo County would like to pass along to the residents of the Wabash Valley a few pieces of information to answer some questions and concerns that may arise regarding voting eligibility and voting practices.

You are eligible to vote in this general election if you will be 18 years of age on the day of the next general election. That means even if your birthday is Nov. 4, you can register to vote today and cast your ballot on Nov. 4 (or at any of the absentee in person satellite sites).

Voter registration for the Nov. 4 election ends at the end of the business day (approximately 4 p.m.) Monday, Oct. 6.

In order to register to vote you must be a United States citizen who has lived at their current address for 30 days prior to Election Day. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. If you have moved prior to the Oct. 6, 2008, registration deadline, you can:

n Submit a change of address application in person at the county Board of Elections office at the courthouse.

n Complete a new registration application when you update your drivers’ license and it will update your voter registration information.

n Complete a new registration application and mail it in and it will update your voter registration information.

If you forget to update your voter registration data with your new change of address after moving within the same precinct, chances are in Vigo County you’ll still be voting in the same location. However, you will need to verbally inform the clerk at the poll of the change of address prior to your voting.

If you have moved to a different precinct in the same county, and failed to change your voter registration data prior to Oct. 6, you can vote at your old precinct after making a verbal or written affirmation of the change of address before a member of the precinct election board — usually the clerk and inspector.

If you moved to a new county before Oct. 6, you must re-register by the close of the day on Oct. 6. Typically, that would mean your paperwork must be at the voter registration office by 4 p.m. Oct. 6.

Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Any and all voters in line at the 6 p.m. closing time of the polls will be able to vote. It is your right and under no circumstances should you be turned away.

Recent laws require that you bring a photo identification issued by either the state of Indiana or the Unites States government with you to the poll. Examples of this include an Indiana driver’s license, U.S. passport or a military identification card. Your form of identification must show an expiration date on it. The expiration date should fall after Nov. 4, 2008. Your form of identification should display a name that is consistent with the name you used when you registered to vote. The name does not need to be identical.

Recent changes in law enable a citizen to register to vote even if that person has been arrested. You can register and vote if you were arrested but never convicted of a crime. You can register and vote absentee if you are detained before your trial but not convicted of a crime. You can register and vote if you are on bail, on probation or parole, subject to home detention, or in a community corrections program.

You can vote even if you were previously convicted of a felony. You have the right to vote.

Vigo County has a wonderful system at its finger tips — absentee voting in person. There will be four satellite polling places opening at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, for the convenience of early voting for every voter in Vigo County. These four early polling sites will be at Southland Plaza (old Dollar General location), Meadows, Plaza North (old theater location) and ISU Cunningham Memorial Library. They will be clearly marked and handicap accessible. Photo identification is required at these locations just as they would be at the Election Day polls. You do not have to provide a reason for voting early at these sites.

Surrounding counties have early voting sites located within their courthouses at their absentee voters offices.

There are two other options to vote early. One is to vote before the Traveling Board if you are confined to your home due to illness or injury or if you are caring for a confined person. Second, you can vote by mail if you will not be in the county on Election Day, are working at the polls, or are at least 65 years of age. You may vote by mail if you are observing religious beliefs or practices during the entire time the polls are open. You may vote by mail if you are permanently disabled or confined on Election Day because of illness or injury or you are the primary caregiver of someone who is confined to his/her home due to illness or injury.

Your absentee ballot requests for voting by mail must be submitted by mail, fax or hand-delivered by midnight on Oct. 27. Your mail-in ballot must be postmarked no later than Nov. 4.

The League of Women Voters of Vigo County has offered many voter registration opportunities in Vigo County at various times and locations. It is our hope you have been able to take advantage of our efforts. However, if we have missed you, you can still register to vote at the courthouse, as well as at various retail institutions, until Oct. 6.

Please keep in mind that voting is a right and not a privilege. We hope that all who are not registered would become registered. We hope that those who are registered would then exercise their right and vote. While you’re at it, take a friend along with you.

— Stephanie Land, president

League of Women Voters of Vigo County

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.