Opposition to Moving Local Elections

I strongly oppose the proposal to move Indiana’s municipal elections to coincide with presidential or midterm election years.

Municipal elections must remain focused on local issues — schools, public safety, roads, and essential services. Combining them with federal or state elections would drown out those priorities under the noise of national politics, effectively nationalizing our local government races. It is also another way to stifle debate, compromise, and accountability by burying local issues under the weight of partisan national contests.

There are also serious logistical and fairness concerns:

Ballot length and confusion: Adding municipal races to already crowded ballots would overwhelm voters and create confusion, especially when some county residents cannot vote for city offices

Complex ballot management: Reviewing up to 135 different ballot styles, with city wards included in some and varying districts for county council, creates opportunity for errors.

Longer wait times: In 2024, Vanderburgh County’s early vote locations were open from noon–6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon–5 p.m. on Fridays. Even with those hours, poll workers had to stay more than two hours past closing each day to serve everyone in line. With more races on the ballot, wait times would increase dramatically.

Poll worker strain: Most of our early voting workers are in their 70s and 80s, and breaks were not built into the schedule. Finding enough workers is already difficult. Adding more voters, more races, and longer hours would worsen the strain on an aging workforce.

Increased costs: More voting machines, workers, and resources would be required to accommodate longer ballots and higher turnout.

Fundraising burden: Combining elections would also mean more candidates competing for campaign funds in the same year, making it harder for local candidates and voters to connect.

Our local elections deserve the full attention of voters, with fair access for those casting ballots and reasonable working conditions for those staffing our polling sites. Keeping municipal elections separate ensures that local priorities are not overshadowed and that our election system remains manageable and effective.

For these reasons, I urge lawmakers to reject this proposal and protect the integrity of municipal elections.

Cheryl Schultz, Chair
Vanderburgh County Democratic Party