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Indiana Will Have More Limited In-Person Voting For June 2 Primary

Secretary of State Connie Lawson says both state party leaders are in consensus about moving Indiana's primary election to June 2.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson says both state party leaders are in consensus about moving Indiana's primary election to June 2.

Indiana will hold some in-person voting opportunities for its June 2 primary election.

The state already extended vote-by-mail to any Hoosier who wants to cast a ballot that way. But Secretary of State Connie Lawson says some voters feel strongly about going to their polling place.

Still, the state is going to limit in-person voting to just one week leading up to and including Election Day on June 2.

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“We didn’t want to have in-person voting only on Election Day because we felt like that would be too many people congregating at the same time,” Lawson says.

Normally, in-person early voting lasts about a month before the election.

Lawson says Indiana is also applying for nearly $8 million in federal funding to help address COVID-19 safety concerns.

“We are using that money to purchase masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, cleaning and disinfecting supplies for voting systems, electronic poll books and general surfaces,” Lawson says.

Lawson says the state will also make a push – particularly on social media – to recruit more poll workers, especially young people.

Contact Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page  here. 

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  or the  Indiana State Department of Health  for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.