Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Spring Membership Drive


Donate now to support local news and music on WBOI
Your source for updates and analysis of the 2020 elections. WBOI and NPR work hard each day to bring you facts you can rely on and the context behind the headlines.Tune to 89.1 or stream WBOI on election night beginning at 7 p.m for in-depth coverage as results come in from national elections.

Vote-By-Mail Advocates Take Case To Federal Appeals Court

FILE PHOTO: Lauren Chapman
/
IPB News

A group of Indiana residents trying to force the state to allow all Hoosier voters to cast mail-in ballots this year have their day in a federal appeals court Wednesday.

The suit will be heard in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

A group of voters filed suit earlier this year in a bid to force Indiana officials to expand vote-by-mail to anyone who wanted it for the 2020 general election, just like the state did for the primary election, amid COVID-19.

READ MORE: Can I Vote By Mail? Here's What You Need To Know For Indiana's Elections

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana 2020 Two-Way. Text "elections" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

The vote-by-mail advocates said without expanded mail-in options this fall, some Hoosiers will have to choose between risking their health by voting in person or not voting at all.

A federal district court judge already sided against those advocates, ruling that while the Constitution guarantees the right to vote, it does not guarantee the right to vote by mail.

Indiana Republican state officials insist people will have plenty of safe options to vote in-person, including early voting, which begins Oct. 6.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.