Voting in Indiana began Oct. 12. Here's where and how to vote early in St. Joseph County.

Claire Reid, South Bend Tribune
·5 min read
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An absentee ballot envelope is shown Tuesday inside the County City Building in South Bend.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, and early voting in Indiana began Wednesday, Oct. 12.

Voting registration closed Tuesday, Oct. 11.

To check to see if you're registered, go to indianavoters.in.gov.

Where can I vote early?

St. Joseph County residents can vote early in person at the County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Boulevard in downtown South Bend, or at the County Services Building, 219 Lincoln Way W. in Mishawaka.

All residents can vote early as long as they registered to vote by Oct. 11.

Supervisor of absentee voting Cindy Streich said it is important that residents bring a valid photo ID to vote. Acceptable forms of ID include an Indiana driver's license or Indiana-issued photo ID card, a military ID or a US passport.

Can I vote by mail with an absentee ballot?

To qualify to vote absentee in Indiana, you must meet at least one of 12 conditions. According to the St. Joseph County Clerk's office, these are:

  • You have a specific, reasonable expectation that you will be absent from the county on Election Day during the entire 12 hours polls are open, 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.

  • You have a disability.

  • You are at least 65 years old.

  • You will have official election duties outside of your voting precinct. (This does not apply to St. Joseph County poll workers working at a St. Joseph County vote center on Election Day, because the poll worker may vote at the vote center in which they are working).

  • You are scheduled to work at your regular job during the entire 12 hours polls are open.

  • You will be confined due to illness or injury or you will be caring for an individual confined due to illness or injury during the entire 12 hours polls are open.

  • You are prevented from voting because of a religious discipline or religious holiday during the entire 12 hours polls are open.

  • You changed residence less than 30 days before an election and meet some other requirements.

  • You are a participant in the state's address confidentiality program.

  • You are a member of the military or a public safety officer.

  • You are a "serious sex offender" as defined in Indiana Code 35-42-4-14(a).

  • You have no transportation to the polls.

According to the County Clerk's office, COVID-19 is not an acceptable excuse under current Indiana law to vote absentee by mail.

To be approved for an absentee ballot, Streich said, it is important you remember to mark the reason why you are applying to vote absentee from the list of 12 reasons above.

"I can't stress this enough, people need to make sure that they mark the reason why they're voting absentee and ... sign their application," Streich said.

Also, if you are registered to vote in St. Joseph County but are currently residing elsewhere, Streich said it is important you remember to include in your application form the address you would like your absentee ballot sent to.

OK, I qualify to vote by mail, but how do I do it?

You can request an absentee ballot by mail by completing the Application for Absentee Ballot By Mail found on indianavoters.in.gov under the "My Voter Portal." Print, sign and return the application to the St. Joseph County Election Board, 101 S. Main Street, South Bend, Indiana 46601. You can also return your application via email by sending it to absenteevoting@sjcindiana.com.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m. Ballots must be returned by mail or in person by 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.

When can I vote early?

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 12, early voting is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Monday through Friday at both the County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Boulevard in downtown South Bend and at the County Services Building, 219 Lincoln Way W. in Mishawaka.

Early voting is also open Saturdays Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 from noon to 4 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 7 from 8 a.m. to noon.

How many ballots have already been sent out?

"We have already sent out 2,620 absentee ballots (by mail), and we've also emailed approximately 80," Streich said the morning of Thursday, Oct. 6. "We've been busy. We don't open to the public until Wednesday, but yeah, we think it's going to be a busy election."

Streich said she thinks the general election will definitely have a greater turnout than the primary because many people "don't vote in the primary because they don't want to declare their party.

According to the county's May 3 unofficial "Election Summary Report," just under 7.5% of registered voters voted in the primary.

Vote411 partnership continues

The League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area, in partnership with the American Democracy Project of Indiana University South Bend, operates www.vote411.org, a website full of information about the candidates and their positions on key issues. The site also includes other tools to help navigate the voting process for the elections.

One of the most prominent features of the site is the ability to see candidates answer questions about issues in each race. You can show their answers side-by-side for quick assessment of which one lines up with your own positions. Readers can check out the site now. The Tribune continues its participation in the partnership by publishing answers from candidates in significant, contested races.

As in the past several elections, The Tribune will publish the candidates’ responses verbatim from the vote411 website. The League and American Democracy Project policy is not to edit or alter the candidates’ responses in any way. The Tribune has agreed to run the answers similarly unedited, as was made clear to candidates in their invitation to participate. Thus, any spelling or grammatical errors in the answers were made by the candidate. Additionally, if we do not include a photograph of a candidate, that means the candidate did not provide one.

Because of space limitations, The Tribune will publish only a selection of the questions from some of the races. Additional questions and answers — from all of the races — are available at Vote411.org, along with a great many other resources for voters.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How to vote in St. Joseph County, and where candidates stand on issues