Dear Governor Holcomb, Speaker Huston, Majority Leader Messmer, and Secretary Lawson:
I want to start by saying thank you for allowing anyone who had wanted to do so, to vote via Absentee Ballot for the Indiana Primary Election last month. It allowed myself, and so many of us, to exercise our constitutional right to vote. It also allowed me, and so many of us, to believe you felt Hoosiers shouldn’t have to risk our lives to exercise our right to vote.
However, I am having a hard time understanding why you are not allowing Hoosiers to vote via Absentee Ballot for the General Election in November. COVID-19 is still with us, and by all trends right now, it will still be with us in November. In fact, it may be even worse in November.
Why are you not sending out requests for Absentee Ballots to all registered voters for the General Election? Why are you not allowing voters who want to exercise their right to vote to do so safely in the midst of a pandemic? Why are you now making us choose between risking contracting COVID-19 or exercising our constitutional right?
That is the immediate question. The larger question is why all of you believe we shouldn’t be allowed to vote either in person OR via absentee ballot for every election. Why must we give a reason to vote via absentee ballot? If it is our right to vote, why do you feel it must be done in person? We should be able to choose to vote via absentee ballot without having to tell you why. After all, we don’t have to tell you why we choose to vote in person. Why the double-standard?
We want to vote in November. We want to choose which candidate will be representing us at the local, the state, and the national levels. We want to exercise our constitutional right to vote. We also want to practice safety, and remain alive and in good health.
Governor Holcomb, Speaker Huston, Majority Leader Messmer, and Secretary Lawson, I’ll ask again, why won’t you let us vote in the manner we choose since the Constitution does not say, that I can find, for a voter must exercise their right, they must do so in person?
It is not too late to change the law and the rules to allow us to vote from the safety of our homes.
Why are you waiting to do so? Why are you not working to keep us safe? Why are you not allowing us to vote in a way that is best for us?
Please, Governor Holcomb, Speaker Huston, Majority Leader Messmer, and Secretary Lawson, just let us vote.
Sincerely yours,
Frank Chiki
Registered and Proud Voter
[Correction: Original post referenced Speaker Bosma, now former Speaker.]
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 