Hoosiers weigh in on moving municipal elections to even-numbered years at public meeting

Hoosiers got a chance Wednesday to weigh in on whether the state should require all municipal elections to move to presidential or congressional mid-term election years.

Secretary of State Diego Morales is hosting a series of public meetings on the issue as part of a study ordered by the legislature.

Part of the meeting was a presentation by the Secretary of State's office. It covered the potential cost savings and voter turnout impact of moving municipal elections. Municipal elections statewide in 2023 cost about $18 million, with voter turnout of just 20 percent.

READ MORE: Indiana municipal elections moved to presidential election years under Senate bill
 

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Jennifer Lewis works for the Vigo County clerk. She worries adding city offices to federal and statewide ballots will create confusion.

"The times that we have for voting … I can only imagine that people are going to be behind even longer, with the length of the ballot that it's going to be," Lewis said.

Morales said he's heard different views as he travels the state. He said elected leaders in larger counties want municipal elections to stay where they are.

"In some other, smaller cities, they want to save some money and they're willing to move their elections," Morales said.

Morales said the report his office will present to lawmakers will not include a recommendation.

There are more public meetings in coming weeks — in Jeffersonville, Lake County and Evansville.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.