Long wait times, limited hours have stymied voters through 2 weeks of early voting

FORT WAYNE—Today, the Allen County Democratic Party sent out the following release, detailing the party’s recent calls for expanded early voting access which has been rejected by the Allen County Republican Party and Republican-majority Election Board:

Last Friday, Democratic election board member Jack Morris officially requested an emergency Election Board meeting to expand early voting hours, and earlier opening dates for satellite voting locations. Earlier this week, the County Clerk and Republican member of the Allen County Election Board denied this meeting request, and the Allen County Republican Party is opposing efforts to ease voting delays.

Since early voting started, we have been inundated with reports of hour-plus waits to vote early at the Rousseau Centre, as well as eyewitnesses seeing prospective voters turn away when seeing the length of the line. The issue is clear: the Republican-led Election Board was unprepared to manage voting levels expected in a presidential cycle. Multiple weeks of early voting have passed with availability only during prime work hours without any evening or weekend availability. To make matters worse, satellite locations have been severely limited to only one week and one Saturday of the early voting window.

The Allen County GOP has publicly cited difficulty staffing early voting and Election Day roles during this cycle, but Allen County voters should not be penalized for one party’s inability to do its duty. These delays are not the fault of the dedicated election workers but due to a Republican-led county that is not interested in ensuring that all citizens of Allen County are provided ample opportunity to cast their ballot.

Compared to other counties in Indiana, Allen County is 89th of 92 in early voting, but this is not because people aren’t showing up to vote. It is because people are showing up and being turned off by a line that snakes through the entire building and runs out the door. These issues could have been prevented by proper planning and adequate expectations for an election that was obvious to draw heightened excitement and participation.

“This is not a partisan issue,” said Allen County Democratic Party Chairman Derek Camp. “Voters of all parties and beliefs are affected by unacceptable wait times and limited early voting availability, and it is our duty as party leaders to ensure that everyone can cast their ballot in a reasonable manner. I am disappointed that our Republican counterparts have chosen to oppose these simple requests.”

“I voted on October 8th, arriving at the Rousseau Centre at 11am,” said voter Kieran O’Dowd. “It took me over an hour to be able to vote. I think it’s sad that only two clerks were provided to process all the voters who turned out.”