INDIANAPOLIS — Here in Indiana, we have what's called an open primary. But legislation at the statehouse could change that along with how long you have to early vote.
Under the current open primary system, all registered voters can select a candidate from any political party. However, Senate Bill 201 would require voters to declare a party affiliation before participating in the primary election.
Republican State Senator Mike Gaskill is the bill's author. He believes that this change is necessary to ensure the integrity of the nomination process.
"Republican and Democrat party members should be able to expect that their nomination process is pure and that the other party isn't sabotaging their selection process," Gaskill said.
He argues that Indiana is an outlier in holding open primaries and that his legislation would create a more balanced primary process. Critics, however, are concerned about the impact on independent voters.
"They should not be choosing the nominee of the two major parties if they do not voluntarily say hey I am a member of this party,” Gaskill said.
Election advocates like Jay Hart share Gaskill's sentiment. Hart, a fair elections advocate, views participation by non-party members in primaries as problematic. "In a primary race, we are supposed to be choosing the best Republican candidate to face off with the best Democrat or best Libertarian or best independent candidate in the general election. When we have people crossing over, it may not be nefarious, but it's fraudulent," he said.
The bill also creates a blackout period where you can't change your political party. That period is from the opening day of candidate filing through the primary election.
"So if you have a genuine change of heart and say I use to be with this party but now I'm more closely aligned with that party you can change your affiliation," Gaskill said. "But it's not fair doing it after you see who the candidates are. Say you see there are no contested races in the party I affiliate with so I will go over and wreak havoc in the other party's primary."
In addition to the primary system changes, another piece of legislation, Senate Bill 284, could significantly reduce the early voting period in Indiana from 28 days to 14.
"We are against disenfranchising voters,” said Cecelia Poynter, with Mutuality Assured Democracy, known as MAD Voters.
She argues that cutting early voting days could further lower Indiana's already low voter turnout.
"We don't appreciate making it harder to vote. If you listen to Hoosiers, what they tell you is that we need more accessible voting and easier voting," she added.
WATCH | Lawmakers look to change open primary, shorten early voting
Supporters of reducing early voting claim that research shows most early voting occurs in the two weeks leading up to an election and that smaller counties often struggle to fund a full 28-day early voting period.
Hart says that the more days we have added across the country the worse voter turnout has gotten. He argues the majority of people vote early in the last two weeks early voting is available. He believes that reducing the number of days could lead to better voter turnout and create more confidence in Indiana's election process.
"I've knocked on thousands of doors over 25 years," Hart said. "I have never one time knocked on a door and somebody said I sure wish I had more days and more opportunity to vote. But I have heard a lot of people say I don't believe in our elections there are too many opportunities for fraud. I've heard that a lot."
Both Senate Bill 201 and Senate Bill 284 have passed out of committee and are now heading to the full Senate for a vote.
