Lake and Porter County election officials said their staff have been working overtime since last week processing voter registrations, and they anticipate increasing overtime hours as the Oct. 7 voter registration deadline approaches.
Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Director Michelle Fajman said the office has seen an increase in the last month of people registering to vote.
“We have seen an increase in the last month, which is expected with a presidential election,” Fajman said. “It’s on par with what we’ve seen in a presidential election.”
Voters can register to vote online at Indianavoters.in.gov, by mail or in person at their local election office, Fajman said.
To register, a voter needs to be a U.S. citizen, show a valid Indiana driver’s license or state identification card, be at least 18 years old on or before the next election, live within the precinct for at least 30 days before the election, and not currently be imprisoned after being convicted of a crime, according to Indianavoters.in.gov.
Voter registration could take up to seven days to process, Fajman said, so voters should register as soon as possible. As long as voters register by Oct. 7, they will be able to cast a ballot on Nov. 5, said Porter County Elections and Registration assistant director Tara Graf.
“It’s important that you register early,” Fajman said. “This is the first step they have to take to vote.”
In Porter County, election officials have processed more than 11,000 registrations since the primary election, of which about 2,500 are new registrations, said Porter County Elections and Registration Director Sundae Schoon. Officials still have more than 1,300 registrations to process, she said.
In Lake County, there are 368,866 total active registered voters with 1,439 registrations pending and 139 incomplete registrations as of Tuesday, Fajman said.
For mail-in ballots, Fajman said staff have sent out 6,774 ballots and received 1,014 back eight days into absentee ballot collection.
Fajman said the current election is so far mirroring the 2008 presidential election when looking at mail-in ballot data. Within the same time frame, the department had sent out 6,294 ballots and received 1,740 back, she said.
In 2020, which was the election held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Fajman said the department sent out more than 15,000 ballots and received more than 6,000 in the same timeframe. The numbers are higher because the rules for absentee voting were lifted amid the pandemic, she said.
In 2016, the department mailed out more than 3,000 absentee ballots and received 322 back within the same timeframe, Fajman said. Similarly, in 2012 the department sent out 3,039 absentee ballots and received 833 back within the same timeframe, she said.
After registering to vote, people should research the candidates and decide who they would cast a ballot for, Fajman said. Then, voters should create a voting plan: whether they will vote early in person, mail in a ballot, vote on Election Day or utilize the travel board, she said.
In Porter County, Garf said election staff will continue to work overtime to process voter registration.
“It’s our responsibility as responsible citizens to get out and have your say,” Graf said. “We would love to see 100% of our population registered.”
akukulka@post-trib.com