Indiana

What Voters?

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

In the great debate on early satellite voting, I was pretty much agnostic on the whole matter.   While Democrats and Republicans argued over procedures and protocols, I personally thought the effort should have been put on Election Day vote centers.   So on Election Day, you can vote anywhere in the county and not just in your precinct.

However, as you know, what ended up happening was that the Marion County Election Board couldn’t reach an agreement on satellite voting so Clerk Beth White used her authority to allow satellite voting at Juvenile Court at 25th and Keystone and Traffic Court at 10th and Post Road.   During the hearings on satellite voting dozens of community activists came out saying how they needed satellite voting and even one preacher accused Republicans of engaging in 1950s Jim Crowesque discrimination.  Everyone yelled and scream about how the people were demanding satellite voting.  My question is where are they?

During the first seven days of early voting, about 850 people actually showed up to vote.   Note, there are more than 585,000 registered voters in Marion County.  571 of them had voted by 4 p.m. Friday.  And 286 people voted over the weekend.  According to the Clerk’s office 99 people voted this weekend at the City-County Building, 56 at Juvenile Court and 131 at traffic court.

No offense, but 850 people doesn’t sound like a high demand to me, so it makes me wonder what was the point.   Early voting is expected to cost the taxpayers at least $50,000 between now and Election Day, so hopefully more people will take advantage of it since so many people made a big deal out it.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on October 11, 2010 (boomark / email).