Federal interference at the polls is illegal, but Marion County’s Election Board wants to be prepared anyway.
At its latest board meeting Friday, the board approved a new protocol for poll workers if federal agents, like immigration enforcement, the FBI or other law enforcement, show up at the polls.
Concerns around agents interfering has increased in recent months after President Donald Trump and other administration officials floated the idea or sidestepped direct lines of questioning around the issue. Trump said in May that he would do “anything necessary” to make sure the U.S. has “honest” elections.
Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said that while they believe this is an extremely unlikely scenario, they want to be prepared for anything.
“This is to help reassure not only voters, but poll workers, that we also see what’s going on in the world, and we have a plan in case things go nutty on election day,” Sweeny Bell said.
The election board met on Friday to conduct its pre-election “logic and accuracy test” on its voting machines. By law, 5% of the county’s equipment must be tested in a public meeting.
Marion County Election Board Director Patrick Becker said that he knows poll workers will likely have questions about these concerns.
“It’s about us being able to tell them, we hear them too, and we have a plan on how to respond to those things,” Becker told WFYI.
During the test, the board also approved the new policy, which ensures poll workers understand what state and federal law say about how to act if federal law enforcement agents show up.
The policy states that if agents appear at or near a vote center polling location, workers are to note any details about what agency they are from, if they are armed and what time it is. They should then immediately call the election board or an inspector hotline if it occurs on election day. They also should not obstruct or physically block any officers and do not volunteer any information.
Poll workers are also checking credentials for other permissible individuals who are allowed to be in voting centers, like election watchers, challengers, pollbook holders and the media.
Federal law makes it a crime to station armed federal officers at polls, and it is illegal to intimidate, threaten or coerce anyone or interfere with their right to vote.
Some of the persons who are permitted to be inside the polls during an election include:
- Members of a precinct election board
- Poll clerks and assistant poll clerks
- Election sheriffs
- Deputy election commissioners
- Pollbook holders and challengers
- Watchers
- Voters
- Minor children accompanying voters
- Individualized authorized to assist voters
Sweeny Bell told WFYI that most of the concern she’s hearing from the public for this election is about mail-in ballots, or how voters can vote absentee. She said concerns with the ballot being lost or compromised through the postal service is causing some to worry.
“But if people are concerned, I have been telling them that you can drop it off at early voting places or you can bring it to our election operations center, or to the city-county building,” Bell said.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 5. Voters can check their registration status at indianavoters.in.gov.
Early in-person voting begins Oct. 6 at the City-County Building, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Satellite site early voting starts Oct. 24.
For a complete schedule on voting locations and times, including weekends, go to vote.indy.gov.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot to vote by mail is Oct. 22. More details on how to apply for an absentee ballot can be found here.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org
