Payne: House Advances Bill Expanding Early, In-Person Voting Access

House Bill 1479 now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - The Indiana House of Representatives voted unanimously on Monday in support of legislation co-authored by State Rep. Zach Payne (R-Charlestown) expanding early voting opportunities for Hoosiers.

In Indiana, all registered voters are eligible to vote early in-person starting 28 days before an election. Dates, times, and locations vary by county.

Currently, every county must have early voting open for seven hours on the two Saturdays ahead of Election Day. Payne said with this legislation, the circuit court clerk would have the option of opening for at least four hours the third Saturday before Election Day.

"Turnout continues to increase across the state, and this would open up more opportunities for voters to cast their ballots early and in person," Payne said. "A lot of us want to avoid long lines and schedules are so busy, this would just help accommodate more people so they can perform their civic duty."

He said in order to open a satellite voting office for a third Saturday, the county election board must first pass a resolution providing the circuit court clerk with authorization.

House Bill 1479 now moves to the Senate for further consideration. For more information, visit iga.in.gov.