Indiana Democratic Party 4-18-20 Weekly Radio Address Podcast

Chairman John Zody and the 4-18-20 Indiana Democratic Party Weekly Radio Address Podcast:

Democrats fought to make sure strong health guidelines were included in the order, as well as working to make it easier to recruit poll workers and expand sites to count absentee ballots with an expected increase in volume.

TRANSCRIPT:

This is the Indiana Democratic Party weekly message for April 18, 2020.

In what is soon to be our sixth week of this unprecedented pandemic, we wanted to stay in touch with you as it relates to the June 2 primary.

Yesterday, the Indiana Election Commission held a meeting and passed an order outlining what voting will look like for the June 2 primary election.

Indiana Democrats continue to encourage all those who can to vote by mail for this election. You can go to Indianavoters.com to get an application for an absentee ballot – you just need to have it in by May 21 in order to receive a ballot in time to get it back before the election. Ballots need to be received by your local election office by NOON on June 2.

And don’t forget, you do not need to state a reason why you are voting by mail – those have been removed for this election, and soon an online portal will be available so that you can submit your application completely online.

Early in-person voting will be from May 26 – noon on June 1, with in-person voting on Election Day.

AND DON’T FORGET – VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS ON MONDAY, MAY 4.

From the outset, Hoosier Democrats’ position has been to ensure voting is safe, secure and convenient for everyone involved. The agreement reached on Friday ensures that local officials have more flexibility in administering the primary election during this unprecedented time. Democrats fought to make sure strong health guidelines were included in the order, as well as working to make it easier to recruit poll workers and expand sites to count absentee ballots with an expected increase in volume.

In addition, issues were raised by Democrats at the meeting regarding absentee voting deadlines and mailing an absentee ballot application to voters. I am disappointed these were voted down by the Republicans on the Commission – but look forward to continuing the discussion on why vote-by-mail is the safest option at next week’s April 22 hearing. Indiana had the largest one-day increase of COVID-19 cases announced yesterday, and we must keep options on the table to expand voting rights and protect the public health of Hoosiers.

Thank you for listening.