INDIANAPOLIS — A Republican-led bill introduced in the Indiana Senate would cut the number of early voting days in the state by half.
Under current law, voters may cast their in-person ballots up to 28 days before Election. Senate Bill 284, would reduce that to 14.
The first version of the bill, written by Sen. Gary Bryne (Byrneville) and Sen. Mike Gaskill (Pendleton), allowed only seven days of early voting. An amendment extending that window to 14 days was added in committee.
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The ACLU of Indiana voiced their opposition to the bill, writing "At a time when voter turnout in Indiana is among the lowest in the nation, elected officials should be focused on increasing opportunities for voting, not taking them away."
In the 2024 General Election, 30,625 people in Monroe County casted their ballot early, according to the county's early voting dashboard. That was up considerably from the 22,899 early votes casted in 2020 and 27,024 in 2016.
54,553 total votes were casted by the end of Election Day, putting turnout at about 57% of registered voters. Nearly a third of voters—32%—voted early.
