Students and faculty who wish to mail in their vote for this year’s general election Nov. 4 are running out of time as the window of opportunity to apply for a mail-in ballot is quickly closing.
Associate Professor of Political Science Mary Hallock Morris said it is very important for college students to vote because if the college student voting levels are low, then the politicians in office will not pay as much attention to them.
“If you want your voice heard, the easiest way to get your voice heard is to get out and vote,” she said.
Junior exercise science major Kaitlin Clawson wanted to make sure her voice would be heard, so she submitted her absentee-by-mail application Oct. 16.
“I checked my mail Wednesday and the packet to vote was in there,” she said.
Clawson, who voted absentee for Delaware County, went home for fall break, but didn’t have the chance to go to the courthouse and vote, she said.
“I wanted to make sure I voted,” she said. “My dad is running for Union Township Trustee. He’s had the position for several years now, he just has an opponent this year and I wanted to make sure I voted absentee and gave my vote to him. That was important to me.”
Clawson said even if her father weren’t running for office, she still would have voted because it’s important that young people play a more active role in elections.
“I think where a lot of the issues lie is we’re so consumed with social media and what our friends are doing that we don’t pay enough attention to current events happening both around the world and in the United States,” she said. “We’re distracted by social media and the things around us, and we just neglect what we should be focused on. Our generation should have more of a focus and be informed because we’re the leaders of the future, and if we don’t know what’s going on now, then I don’t think it’s a very good sign.”
It’s not enough just to go out and vote, she said. People need to know what they’re voting for.
“I don’t believe people should vote just because they have the ability,” she said. “People should either be informed about the different candidates and what they stand for, or they shouldn’t vote.”
Clawson, who voted in the 2012 General Election, said she believes there should be a stronger voter turnout for state and county elections.
While Indiana saw a 58 percent voter turnout for the 2012 General Election, only 41 percent of eligible voters filled out a ballot last time a presidential candidate wasn’t on it.
During that election, only 37 percent of voters in Vanderburgh County voted.
One reason for a low voter turnout this year might be an underwhelming sense of importance young people place on these elections, Clawson said.
“It’s not as important as voting for the president, but it does make a difference,” she said. “It is harder for young people to look at it and say, ‘Oh, this is just like voting for the President of the United States,’ because it’s not really, but it’s important.”
Everything starts from the bottom and builds its way up, Clawson said.
“If you don’t have a good base of people on a county level, you’re not going to have a good group on the state level, or even the national level,” she said.
Another reason for low voter turnout might be the ideology young people hold that their vote doesn’t count, she said.
“Every vote counts in the grand scheme of things,” Clawson said. “If everyone sits down and says, ‘Oh, does my vote count?’ and nobody votes, then we’re not going to get anywhere. You have to believe that your vote counts and that your opinion matters, because it does.”
How to vote absentee
To vote absentee-by-mail, either the Indiana Election Division or the county you are registered to vote in must receive your by-mail application by 11:59 p.m. Monday.
Applications can be mailed, faxed or hand-delivered (mailing addresses and phone numbers for county offices can be found at the bottom of this page).
To ensure your absentee-by-mail application is received, the best option would be to fax it to the Indiana Election Division at (317) 233-6793.
The USI Campus Store has a fax machine for student-use. The cost to fax the application is $1.50.
Applications sent via email will not be accepted.
Voters voting absentee-by-mail are not required to show a photo ID.
Absentee ballots should arrive within a week of the county office receiving your application.
Once your absentee ballot arrives, it must be mailed and received by your county office by noon Nov. 4.
A registered voter who wants to vote absentee-in-person has until noon Nov. 3 to do so.
To vote absentee-in-person, in-person applications are filled out at the time of voting and a current and valid photo ID must be presented.
Absentee-in-person votes can be cast at the Vanderburgh County Election Office, which is located at 1 NW Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Nov. 1.
Information by county
INDIANA ELECTION DIVISION
302 West Washington Street, Suite 2-4 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2767
Phone: (317) 232-3939
Fax: (317) 233-6793
ADAMS
Adams Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 189
Decatur, IN 46733-0180
(260) 724-5300 EXT 2110
ALLEN
Allen Co. Election Board
1 East Main Street, Suite 172 Ft. Wayne, IN 46802
(260) 449-7329
BARTHOLOMEW
Bartholomew County Clerk P.O. Box 924
Columbus, IN 47201
(812) 379-1604
BENTON
Benton Co. Circuit Court Clerk 706 E. 5th Street, Suite 37 Fowler, IN 47944-1556
(765) 884-0930
BLACKFORD
Blackford Co. Circuit Court Clerk 110 West Washington Street Hartford City, IN 47348-2298 (765) 348-1130
BOONE
Boone Co. Circuit Court Clerk 212 Courthouse Square Lebanon, IN 46052-2126 (765) 483-3510
BROWN
Brown County Clerk
P.O. Box 85
Nashville, IN 47448-0085 (812) 988-5510
CARROLL
Carroll Co. Circuit Court Clerk 101 W. Main Street, Ste. 206 Delphi, IN 46923
(765) 564-4485
CASS
Cass Co. Circuit Court Clerk 200 Court Park, Room 103 Logansport, IN 46947-3192 (574) 753-7740
CLARK
Clark Co. Circuit Court Clerk 501 E. Court Avenue, Room 131 Jeffersonville, IN 47130-4090 (812) 285-6329
CLAY
Clay Co. Circuit Court Clerk
609 E. National Ave., Room 213 Brazil, IN 47834
(812) 448-9024
CLINTON
Clinton Co. Circuit Court Clerk 265 Courthouse Square Frankfort, IN 46041-1993 (765) 659-6337
CRAWFORD
Crawford Co. Circuit Court Clerk 715 Judicial Plaza Drive
P.O. Box 375
English, IN 47118 (812) 338-2565
DAVIESS
Daviess Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 739
Washington, IN 47501-0739 (812) 254-8679
DEARBORN
Dearborn County Election Clerk 215 W. High Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025-1909 (812) 537-8867
DECATUR
Decatur Co. Circuit Court Clerk 150 Courthouse Square, Suite 244 Greensburg, IN 47240-2080
(812) 663-8223
DEKALB
DeKalb Co. Circuit Court Clerk 100 S. Main Street
P.O. Box 230
Auburn, IN 46706-0230 (260) 925-9787
DELAWARE
Delaware County Clerk
100 W. Main Street, Room 211 Muncie, IN 47305
(765) 747-7726
DUBOIS
Dubois Co. Circuit Court Clerk One Courthouse Square Jasper, IN 47546-3058
(812) 481-7035
ELKHART
Elkhart Co. Election Board
101 North Main Street, Rm 204 Goshen, IN 46526
(574) 535-6469
FAYETTE
Fayette Co. Circuit Court Clerk 401 Central Avenue Connersville, IN 47331
(765) 825-1813
FLOYD
Floyd Co. Circuit Court Clerk 311 Hauss Square, Rm. 235 New Albany, IN 47150-3584 (812) 948-5415
FOUNTAIN
Fountain Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 183
Covington, IN 47932
(765) 793-2192
FRANKLIN
Franklin Co. Circuit Court Clerk 459 Main Street
Brookville, IN 47012-1486 (765) 647-5111
FULTON
Fulton Co. Circuit Court Clerk 815 Main Street
Rochester, IN 46975
(574) 223-4824
GIBSON
Gibson Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 630
Princeton, IN 47670-0630 (812) 385-2541
GRANT
Grant Co. Circuit Court Clerk Courthouse Suite B-9
101 E. 4th Street
Marion, IN 46952 (765) 668-7488
GREENE
Greene County Voter Registration P.O. Box 229
Bloomfield, IN 47424-0229
(812) 384-2015
HAMILTON
Hamilton Co. Circuit Court Clerk
1 Hamilton County Square, Suite 106 Noblesville, IN 46060-2230
(317) 776-8476
HANCOCK
Hancock County Election Office 9 East Main Street, Room 227 Greenfield, IN 46140
(317) 477-1171
HARRISON
Harrison Co. Circuit Court Clerk Courthouse, Room 203
300 North Capitol Avenue Corydon, IN 47112-1155 (812) 738-4289
HENDRICKS
Hendricks Co. Voter Registration Office Election Supervisor
355 S. Washington St. #218
Danville, IN 46122 (317) 745-9313
HENRY
Henry Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box B
New Castle, IN 47362-1044 (765) 529-9310
HOWARD
Howard Co. Circuit Court Clerk
104 North Buckeye Street, Room 114 Kokomo, IN 46901
(765) 456-7015
HUNTINGTON
Huntington Co. Circuit Court Clerk 201 North Jefferson Street
P.O. Box 228
Huntington, IN 46750 (260) 358-4820
JACKSON
Jackson Co. Voter Registration P.O. Box 318
Brownstown, IN 47220
(812) 358-6120
JASPER
Jasper Co. Circuit Court Clerk 115 W. Washington, Suite 204 Rensselaer, IN 47978
(219) 866-4927
JAY
Jay Co. Circuit Court Clerk
120 North Court Street, Ste. 209 Portland, IN 47371
(260) 726-6915
JEFFERSON
Jefferson Co. Circuit Court Clerk Courthouse, Room 203
300 E. Main Street
Madison, IN 47250-3594 (812) 265-8926
JENNINGS
Jennings Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 385
Vernon, IN 47282-0385
(812) 352-3080
JOHNSON
Johnson Co. Voter Registration P.O. Box 451
Franklin, IN 46131-0451
(317) 346-4466
KNOX
Knox County Voter Registration 111 N. 7th Street, Suite 27 Vincennes, IN 47591-2022 (812) 895-4928
KOSCIUSKO
Kosciusko Co. Circuit Court Clerk 121 N. Lake Street, D162 Warsaw, IN 46580-2788
(574) 372-2332
LAGRANGE
LaGrange Co. Circuit Court Clerk 105 North Detroit Street LaGrange, IN 46761-1801
(260) 499-6392
LAKE
Lake Co. Board of Voter Registration 2293 N. Main Street, A-205
Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 755-3795
LAPORTE
LaPorte Co. Circuit Court Clerk 813 Lincolnway, Suite 105 LaPorte, IN 46350-3492
(219) 326-6808 EXT 2465
LAWRENCE
Lawrence Co. Circuit Court Clerk 916 15th Street, Room 11 Bedford, IN 47421-3800
(812) 277-2036
MADISON
Madison Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 1277
Anderson, IN 46015
(765) 641-9457
MARION
Marion Co. Election Board 3737 E. Washington St., Ste A Indianapolis, IN 46201
(317) 327-5100
MARSHALL
Marshall Co. Circuit Court Clerk 211 West Madison Street Plymouth, IN 46563-1762
(574) 935-8713
MARTIN
Martin Co. Circuit Court Clerk 129 Main Street
P.O. Box 120
Shoals, IN 47581 (812) 247-3651
MIAMI
Miami County Voter Registration 25 N. Broadway, Room 115 Peru, IN 46970-0184
(765) 472-2671
MONROE
Monroe Co. Voter Registration 401 W. 7th Street, Suite 100 Bloomington, IN 47402
(812) 349-2614
MONTGOMERY
Montgomery Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 768
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
(765) 364-6433
MORGAN
Morgan Co. Circuit Court Clerk 180 S. Main St., Suite 1 Martinsville, IN 46151
(765) 342-1029
NEWTON
Newton Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 49
Kentland, IN 47951-0049 (219) 474-6081
NOBLE
Noble Co. Circuit Court Clerk 101 North Orange Street Albion, IN 46701-1092
(260) 636-2736 EXT 1806
OHIO
Ohio Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 185
Rising Sun, IN 47040-0185 (812) 438-2610
ORANGE
Orange Co. Circuit Court Clerk Orange County Courthouse
1 Court Street
Paoli, IN 47454-9632 (812) 723-2649
OWEN
Owen Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 146
Spencer, IN 47460- 0146 (812) 829-5028
PARKE
Parke Co. Circuit Court Clerk 116 West High St., Room 204 Rockville, IN 47872-1781 (765) 569-5132
PERRY
Perry Co. Circuit Court Clerk 2219 Payne Street
Tell City, IN 47586-2832 (812) 547-3741
PIKE
Pike Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 125
Petersburg, IN 47567
(812) 354-6025
PORTER
Porter Co. Board of Elections Administration Center
155 Indiana Avenue, Ste. 105 Valparaiso, IN 46383-5555
(219) 465-3484 / (219) 465-3486
POSEY
Posey Co. Circuit Court Clerk 300 Main Street
P.O. Box 606
Mt. Vernon, IN 47620-0606 (812) 838-1306
PULASKI
Pulaski Co. Circuit Court Clerk 112 E. Main Street, Room 230 Winamac, IN 46996-1394 (574) 946-3313
PUTNAM
Putnam Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 546
Greencastle, IN 46135-0546 (765) 653-1538
RANDOLPH
Randolph Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 230
Winchester, IN 47394-0230 (765) 584-4717
RIPLEY
Ripley Co. Circuit Court Clerk 115 N. Main Street
P.O. Box 177
Versailles, IN 47042 (812) 689-6115
RUSH
Rush Co. Circuit Court Clerk 101 East 2nd Street, Rm 209 Rushville, IN 46173
(765) 932-2086
SCOTT
Scott Co. Circuit Court Clerk
1 East McClain Avenue, Suite 120 Scottsburg, IN 47170
(812) 752-8420
SHELBY
Shelby Co. Circuit Court Clerk 407 S. Harrison Street
P.O. Box 198
Shelbyville, IN 46176 (317) 392-6324
SPENCER
Spencer Co. Circuit Court Clerk 200 Main Street, Ste. 5
P.O. Box 523
Rockport, IN 47635 (812) 649-6029
ST. JOSEPH
St. Joseph Co. Board of Voter Registration 101 South Main Street
South Bend, IN 46601
(574) 235-9635
STARKE
Starke Co. Circuit Court Clerk Courthouse
53 East Washington Street Knox, IN 46534-1197 (574) 772-9160
STEUBEN
Steuben Co. Circuit Court Clerk 55 South Public Square Angola, IN 46703-1945
(260) 668-1000 EXT 2220
SULLIVAN
Sullivan Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 370
Sullivan, IN 47882-0370
(812) 268-4657
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland Co. Circuit Court Clerk Courthouse
212 West Main Street
Vevay, IN 47043-1180 (812) 427-4415
TIPPECANOE
Tippecanoe Co. Board of Elections & Registration
20 N. 3rd Street
P.O. Box 619 Lafayette, IN 47902 (765) 423-9316
TIPTON
Tipton Co. Circuit Court Clerk 101 East Jefferson Street Tipton, IN 46072-1901
(765) 675-2795
UNION
Union Co. Circuit Court Clerk 26 West Union Street Liberty, IN 47353-1396
(765) 458-6121
VANDERBURGH
Vanderburgh Co. Circuit Court Clerk P.O. Box 3356
Evansville, IN 47732-3356
(812) 435-5160
VERMILLION
Vermillion Co. Circuit Court Clerk 255 S. Main Street, Room 304 P.O. Box 10
Newport, IN 47966-0008 (765) 492-5350
VIGO
Vigo Co. Circuit Court Clerk 33 South 3rd Street
Terre Haute, IN 47808 (812) 462-3211
WABASH
Wabash Co. Circuit Court Clerk 69 West Hill Street
Wabash, IN 46992
(260) 563-0661 EXT 1238
WARREN
Warren Co. Circuit Court Clerk 125 N. Monroe Street, Suite 11 Williamsport, IN 47993-1198 (765) 762-3510
WARRICK
Warrick Co. Election Office 1 County Square, Suite 220 Boonville, IN 47601
(812) 897-6161
WASHINGTON
Washington Co. Circuit/Superior Court 99 Public Square, Suite 102
Salem, IN 47167
(812) 883-5748 EXT 1120
WAYNE
Wayne Co. Circuit Court Clerk 301 E. Main Street
Richmond, IN 47374
(765) 973-9304
WELLS
Wells Co. Clerk
102 W. Market St., Suite 201 Bluffton, IN 46714-2091 (260) 824-6482
WHITE
White Co. Circuit Court Clerk 110 Main Street
P.O. Box 350
Monticello, IN 47960-0350 (866) 918-8683
WHITLEY
Whitley Co. Circuit Court Clerk 101 W. Van Buren Street Columbia City, IN 46725-2087 (260) 248-3164