INDIANAPOLIS — A U.S. district just struck down a piece of the state's election law that deals with absentee ballots.The ruling will actually help ensure that your vote is counted and not thrown out.
Billie Breaux voted in the 2018 general election but her absentee ballot was tossed out by an election worker who didn't think her signature looked right.
"I was devastated because I believe there is nothing more valuable than your vote," said the former state senator and county auditor.
Breaux is among an undetermined number of absentee voters across the state whose ballots were disqualified for the same reason and were never notified.
"It's so very important," she said. "It has to be corrected.
A US District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker agreed. Her ruling strikes down part of Indiana's election law as unconstitutional by denying voters their right to due process.
Common cause was among the plaintiffs.
"In an election year whether we expect five times the number of mailed in ballots, it's a big deal," Police Director Julia Vaughn said.
Under Indiana voting laws, voters must sign the envelope containing their absentee ballot. For security purposes, election workers compare it to the signature on their voting records.
Signatures often change with age, time and physical health.
Using the using them as a security check was never in question. The issue was not notifying voters of any discrepancies and giving them the opportunity to fix them and have their vote counted.
Common Cause found that in the 2018 general election, some Indiana counties didn't throw out a single absentee ballot. Others Vaughn said were ruthless.
"They were just recklessly, I would say recklessly, throwing out ballots again with no notice to the voter," she said.
As result of the court's ruling, election workers can no longer toss a ballot just because of a questionable signature unless they first notify the voter and give them the opportunity to prove it's legitimate and their vote should be counted.
