Early primary voting in Cass County begins Tuesday, April 9
Apr. 6—Early voting for the 2024 primary elections begins Tuesday in Cass County.
The Cass County Election Board is reminding all registered voters that there will be major changes in the way elections will be conducted this year. To comply with Indiana law the Cass County Election Board made several changes.
When voting in person at any time before election day, a voter will still use the existing equipment to fill out and print their ballot on scannable paper, but the voter will not be able to personally scan their ballot.
Instead of scanning their ballot, the voter will be required to place their printed ballot in an envelope, seal it, sign the envelope and then give it to two poll workers who will sign the envelope as well. The voter's E-poll book slip will be stapled to this envelope.
The Cass County Election Board will then secure all envelopes until election day when they will be opened and scanned into the election scanning machine that counts the ballots. As in the past, the paper ballot will be retained as a backup to that process and for risk limiting audits.
In a press release form the board, they advise residents who would like to see changes made to how our elections are conducted to reach out to State Senator Stacey Donato at 1-800-382-9467 or 1-317-232-9400; Representative Ethan Manning at 1-317-232-9619 or 1-800-382-9841; and Representative Heath VanNatter at 1-317-232-9643 or 1-800-382-9841 and suggest to them to get rid of the dead voter law.
The changes are being made due a new statute from the Indiana Election Commission and the Indiana Election Division, and primarily effect early voting. It focuses on the possibility that a voter might die after their vote has been cast, which the state wants removed. The statute has been referred to "The Dead Voter Law" by many county clerks.
"The Cass County Election Board and other election equipment vendors disagree with the decision made by the Election Commission but have been unsuccessful in appealing the decision," the board said in a statement released in January. "In addition, the members of the Cass County Election Board do not feel that it is fair to refuse to count a ballot that has been legally cast before Election Day when that person dies before Election Day."
