The deadline for general election voter registration in the state of Indiana is just over a month away, and there are some changes to identification requirements for absentee mail-in voting this election cycle.
The deadline to register or to update registration for both mail-in and in-person voting is October 7 and can be done online for those with an Indiana driver’s license or state I.D. card. Registration can also be done in-person at or mailed in to the Hancock County Voter Registration office, located within the Hancock County Courthouse. All voter registration information, including forms for registering in person or by mail, can be found on the Indiana Secretary of State website. Registration can also be done alongside an application for a form of I.D., such as a driver’s license, at any Indiana BMV branch. College students can vote either at the address they live in while attending school or at the address they live in while not attending school.
Following the passage of a 2023 law, HB 1334, absentee voters will now be required to provide either a photocopy of their photo I.D. or the corresponding identification numbers. Absentee voting is only available to voters who have a reason to request it, with reasons including disability, being over 65 years old and having a “specific, reasonable expectation that you will be absent from the county on Election Day during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.”
The deadline for requesting an absentee mail-in ballot is Oct. 24. The application must be received, not postmarked, by 11:59 p.m. on that date to receive a ballot.
In-person absentee voting, sometimes referred to as early voting, will be available at the courthouse on Tuesdays through Fridays beginning on Oct. 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon; Hancock County Public Library Greenfield location on Mondays through Fridays 2-7 p.m. beginning Oct. 14, the final two Saturdays before election day, Oct. 26 and Nov. 11, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Monday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon; the Hancock County Public Library Sugar Creek location Mondays through Fridays 2-7 p.m. beginning on Oct. 21; the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Administration Building Mondays through Fridays beginning on Oct. 21 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation Administration Building Mondays through Fridays beginning on Oct. 21 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Oct. 26 and Nov. 11, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Randall Residence Mondays through Fridays beginning on Oct. 21 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The final approval of the November ballot for Hancock County will occur at the September 5 meeting of the Hancock County Election Board, with the potential for an additional meeting on Sept. 13 if the state’s presidential certification does not match that on the Hancock County ballot.
Voters can find information on registration, voting by mail and polling locations at the Indiana Voter Portal website.
