If you’re grabbing your wallet to head to a fall festival, it might be a good time to ensure your ID card is present and current before heading to the polls in the next few weeks.
Here are some election-related deadlines and tips that prospective voters should keep in mind in the coming days.
Register by Oct. 7
Indiana’s most urgent voter registration deadline is Oct. 7. Prospective voters need to register or update their address or any other outdated information by that date.
Applications are available at locations such as county governments’ voter registration offices or license branches.
Wayne County’s voter registration office is open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays on the second floor of 301 E. Main St., Richmond, and is accessible by elevator. Staff can be reached at 765-973-9304 or voters@co.wayne.in.us.
Voters mailing their registration are encouraged to do so at least one week in advance. County election officials must receive the form by the deadline. It can’t just be postmarked Oct. 7.
Indiana allows people with felony convictions to vote once they’re released, even if they are on probation or parole. Related information is available at campaignlegal.org/restoreyourvote.
Absentee ballots
Voters’ applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, for an absentee ballot to be delivered by mail, or a voter with print disabilities requesting to vote by mail, email or fax.
Voters can qualify for an absentee ballot for one of 12 reasons, such as being 65 or older, having a disability, being a caregiver or lacking transportation to the polls.
Those applications may be submitted to the clerk in person by mail, fax, email or online through indianavoters.com.
Meanwhile, those who want a traveling voter board to visit them in their place of confinement must apply by noon Monday, Nov. 4. Applications may be submitted to the clerk in person by mail, fax, email or online through indianavoters.com.
Absentee voter information is available at 765-973-9226.
In-person voting
Voters can start casting ballots Oct. 8 at Wayne County Courthouse. Voting is available from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays.
The only exception to those hours is a noon deadline on the final day, Monday, Nov. 4.
The courthouse also will be open on two Saturdays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. just for voting.
Four vote centers will be open around Wayne County from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, until 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1. First Bank Kuhlman Center also will be open two Saturdays for voting (Oct. 26 and Nov. 2) from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
A total of eight vote centers will be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, around the county.
Find the full list of locations at co.wayne.in.us/clerk/election/voters_info.html
How to get an ID
When going to the polls, Indiana voters must show a government-issued photo ID to cast their ballot.
Free IDs are available for those who don’t have a driver’s license and will be 18 or older on or before the election.
Driver’s licenses and IDs that expired after the last general election may be used as proof of ID for voting.
However, some might see the upcoming election as a reminder to order a new card at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch.
Richmond’s branch opens at 9 a.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. It closes at 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays. Hours are extended until 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays. On Saturdays, BMV closes at 12:30 p.m.
When getting a new or updated card, it might be wise to take enough paperwork to qualify for a Real ID.
Real IDs will be required starting next May 7 to get on commercial airplanes or enter certain federal facilities.
The list of required documents to get a Real ID is at in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/real-id-overview. For more information, call 888-692-6841.
November election at a glance
Western Wayne, Fountain City and Hagerstown area voters can choose school board candidates this fall who will make financial and policy decisions for their districts.
Northeastern, Western Wayne and Nettle Creek each have a contested nonpartisan school board race.
- Northeastern: Patrick Barker and Angela “Angie” G. Smith, District B.
- Western Wayne: Jenni Risch and Todd A. Patterson, at-large District D seat.
- Nettle Creek: Candace M. Tramel and Julie Blaase, District A.
However, all Wayne County voters will see other uncontested county and school board races on their ballots.
Only a few candidates will face opponents (Indiana governor and attorney general, U.S. senator, 6th District U.S. representative and president).
Hoosiers also can vote on one constitutional amendment and retention of three state Supreme Court justices and two Court of Appeals judges.
A version of this article appeared in the September 18 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.