US state Indiana: Republicans vote easier than Democrats

[lpetrich]

Easier to vote in Republican areas, harder in Democratic ones - Butterflies and Wheels noting Indiana Republicans limit early voting in Democratic Marion Co., encourage it in GOP strongholds

State and local Republicans have expanded early voting in GOP-dominated areas and restricted it in Democratic areas, an IndyStar investigation has found, prompting a significant change in Central Indiana voting patterns.

From 2008 to 2016, GOP officials expanded early voting stations in Republican dominated Hamilton County, IndyStar's analysis found, and decreased them in the state's biggest Democratic hotbed, Marion County.

That made voting more convenient in GOP areas for people with transportation issues or busy schedules. And the results were immediate.

Most telling, Hamilton County saw a 63 percent increase in absentee voting from 2008 to 2016, while Marion County saw a 26 percent decline. Absentee ballots are used at early voting stations.

As B&W blogger Ophelia Benson notes, "Democrats have tried four times to expand early voting in Marion County, but they’ve been blocked every time by one Republican representative on the elections board." Now they are suing. Let's see if that lawsuit goes anywhere.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

One wonders then, where are the nation's Democratic leaders on this? Why no lawsuits until now?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It was done legally. The system is susceptible to manipulation, the Democrats played fair, the Republicans didn't.

 

[braces_for_impact]

It's tactics like this and gerrymandering that stack the deck against Democrats currently.