ABOUT

WHAT WE DO

EDUCATE

We educate ourselves and everyone throughout Indiana about how to make voting more accessible to all Hoosier voters. Indiana is increasingly in the minority of states adopting effective election reform that engages more voters. We want to change that dynamic and make voters aware of the ways voting practices can be transformed, all while keeping our elections safe. We tell the story about how mailed ballots came to be in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and in an ever-growing list of states. And we describe how other states have adopted stringent processes for conducting mailed elections.

We work to spread the knowledge about mailed elections to all Indiana voters so they understand that waiting in line for hours on election day is not the norm. We want all voters to have access to the polls, both able-bodied and disabled voters, at early voting locations, at polling sites on Election Day, or with mailed ballots. Life is hard enough. The act of voting should be easy.

ADVOCATE

We advocate for voting practices that reach all voters through
options for vote-by-mail in a safe and secure environment,
and technology to assist disabled voters to exercise their
rights to mark ballots independently and privately.

The safety and security of our elections is crucial to maintaining voter confidence and continued participation at the polls. At Indiana Vote By Mail, we believe the very core of election administration rests in ensuring the integrity of our elections through rigorous controls and thoughtful solutions to reach all voters.

RESEARCH

Indiana Vote By Mail researches the best ways to reach more voters and bring them into the electoral process. We are committed to performing research and to networking with voting advocacy groups throughout the U.S. so that we remain knowledgeable about election reform in America. We are working to identify best practices that can be used to enhance and improve the safety, security, and efficiency of elections in Indiana.

We are committed to learning why some voters don’t vote and to turning them into habitual voters engaged in our democratic process. And we want all citizens to feel excited to vote every time an election is held, knowing they had a hand in participating in our democracy.

Barbara Tully

Democracy is a lumpy, bumpy process full of ups and downs, zigging and zagging with the prevailing winds. What voters need is smooth sailing on calm seas, with consistency, safety and dependability. Indiana Vote By Mail wants to make the process of voting one of the easiest ways to interact with our government.

President

WHO WE ARE

Shelly Brown

Shelly Brown is an engineer by training and is determined to find answers to keep elections safe but to make the process of running elections more efficient. “The more people who vote and who feel their voices are being heard, the better our government works for all citizens,” says Shelly.

Vice President

Bonnie Horlander

"Bonnie has dedicated herself to preserving our democracy through reform of the election process in Indiana by advocating for equal access to the polls for all voters. She founded and led Indiana Vote By Mail from its inception and we are grateful for her early leadership and guidance as we forge a path forward to a brighter future for all of Indiana's voters."

Founder & Past President

Debbie Ray

I have been promoting and talking about voting by mail and voting at home ever since Oregon became a vote by mail state in 1981. It was so bad that my best friend wanted to buy me a t-shirt that said "Do not ask me about Voting By Mail!" Then I found Indiana Vote By Mail and all is well with my world.

Vice President

Pauline Spiegel

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A former anthropology professor, Polly believes "We, the people" must govern ourselves, meaning that all those eligible to vote, not just some, should elect our leaders. We understand that democracy is not a spectator sport, and we are working, as a team, to make voting safe, secure, and widely available.

Vice President

Ruth Nisenshal

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In recent years, I have become increasingly aware & discouraged that voting has been made more difficult through intentional manipulation, unsupported allegations and out and out untruths about the overwhelming benefit of vote by mail. It is literally a practice whose time has come. I was so pleased to have met a member of the Indiana Vote By Mail who introduced me to the organization. Subsequently I joined the group, whose sole purpose is to promote fair accessible voting for all.

Treasurer

Matthew Hook

I find it disturbing how a great country like the United States has antiquated and inefficient voting systems which discourage voting. Voting is such a fundamental right in a healthy democracy that we need to do all we can to make it as accessible as possible to all eligible votes.

Member

Lynn Slivka

After many years of teaching, Lynn loves having time to indulge her passions: family, sewing projects large and small, and advocacy for voting reforms. “There just has to be a better way than standing in line to vote for hours at a time,” says Lynn.

Secretary

Bev Agnew

An Indiana native, I was an election/precinct worker and attorney before moving to Colorado. The last few of our 22 years in CO we saw the full state implementation of VBM/VAH. I hope we can convince Indiana of the convenience, safety, reliability, ease and validity of VBM.

Member

Harold Crooks

Member

"Many years ago I understood the importance of voting and rarely missed the opportunity to do so. A few years ago I attended a presentation about the vote by mail system in Colorado given by a founding member of Indiana Vote By Mail. That system appeared to be extremely safe, secure, expedient and easily usable by the voters. That evening I signed up to help bring such an improved system to Indiana."

Pat Brown

I am a retired math teacher from Michigan and voted in Indiana for the first time in 2016. Having encountered substantial lines at my polling site, I decided voting in Indiana needed to be improved and I joined Indiana Vote By Mail. I also became a poll worker so that I had knowledge of how the system works and I go to my Hamilton County Election Board Meetings.

Member

Karen Moratz

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Member

"As the daughter of post-Word War II German immigrants, Karen learned of the fragility of democracy as well as the value of participating in that process from her parents during her childhood. Currently a musician with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Artist in Residence at Butler University, she is committed to the arts and to making a difference for generations to follow. Karen feels that accessible voting is an indispensable tool in free and fair elections, and she is dedicated to bringing Indiana up to the level of other states in which voting by mail has been successfully implemented. "

WHERE WE'VE BEEN

Three of us from Indiana Vote By Mail visited Orange County, California on Monday, March 2, 2020 and Denver, Colorado on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 – Super Tuesday – to observe their election processes and see in detail how mailed elections work.

All voters in both counties are mailed ballots a few weeks before Election Day.

Orange County, with its 1.7M voters, makes wide use of ballot drop boxes throughout the jurisdiction.

In the central election office, voters could walk in and register to vote or update their registrations, and vote at the same time.

Ballot envelopes are scanned through high-speed sorters to image voters’ signatures. The signature verification process is done by election workers. Once ballot envelopes are accepted, the ballots are extracted from the envelopes using slitting machines. Ballots are processed all through election season.