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Preparing for the 2020 general election

Posted at 11:21 PM, Aug 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-11 23:21:48-04

INDIANAPOLIS — June 2 was an election day like no other in Indiana history.

Coronavirus pushed the election back by a month and cut down on in-person voting places, leading to many frustrations.

"I thought I could just come here and it would be in and out," one voter said.

"There was no social distancing at all," another voter said.

Election officials across the state ran into similar issues, but voters in the state's most populated county, Marion, felt the change the most.

Russell Hollis with the Marion County Clerk's Office said they're going to make sure things are better in November.

"We're doing everything we can to help prevent those long lines," Hollis said.

So far, Marion County has not announced how many in-person voting places will be open for the general election.

With the threat of catching coronavirus, some people may altogether decide to skip voting in-person, opting to vote by mail, but as of now, Gov. Eric Holcomb isn't making the process easier, like he did during the primary election with an executive order.

"I have a lot of confidence not just in our election commission, but county by county, 92 counties pulling off our elections," Holcomb said.

So if you want to vote by mail you have to go to Indiana's voter portal. There you'll see the vote by mail option which gives you instructions on how to apply for an absentee ballot.

That application must be received by your county election office by Oct. 22. Election officials recommend you do it sooner rather than later.

If you need help figuring out the process to register and vote, there are groups in the community, like the ACLU of Indiana, working to make that easier.

"We wanted to make sure we can educate people so that they know going into November all of their rights and are able to make their voices heard on Election Day," Katie Blair, of the ACLU of Indiana, said.