The election fraud former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed lost him the 2020 election almost certainly will not happen in Indiana this year, according to election officials.
Since he was first elected in 2016, Trump has falsely claimed voter fraud has marred national elections. In response to those claims, Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales (R) ran for office in 2022 on a campaign promise to keep Indiana elections secure.
County parties oversee staffing and operations at polling sites in Indiana.
Noble County Democratic Party Chair Martha Quintanilla said Morales kept his promise.
“If there is any doubt about the election integrity, that falls on Republicans because the Republicans are the ones that made these laws for our state of how our elections are to be handled,” Quintanilla said.
She said Morales implemented new policies that made what she felt was already a secure election process now airtight.
“Now, the way that it works, it’s almost impossible to even try to do anything illegally,” Quintanilla said. “When you go in, you have to scan your ID or driver’s license. When you go to that machine and you put in your vote, now it shows you in this window who you’re voting for. So, you can double check what’s on your machine and what’s on the paper roll to make sure that your votes are going in correctly.”
Noble County Republican Party Chair Shelly Williams said there are provisions in place for disgruntled voters, and as a result, she’s not worried about threats made against poll workers.
“I’ve been a poll inspector myself years ago for many many years,” Williams said. “Yes, we had some disgruntled people who came in here and there, but there’s always a reason and almost always people understand the reason, and if not, they are always welcomed to do a provisional ballot which will be looked at with more scrutiny later.”
Trump has said multiple times on the campaign trail that the only way he will lose in November is if “they cheat.” Williams said in Indiana, that’s nearly impossible.
“There’s not a lot of opportunity to have fraud or make things uneven,” Williams said. “The poll pads have to match the machine. When you’re answering questions a Democrat should be there as well as a Republican. If you follow those rules and people do that, then there’s not going to be an opportunity to cheat.”
Quintanilla said the new paper confirmation might make the voting process longer on Election Day.
“If you can vote early, do so because those paper machines to the side,” Quintanilla said. “People are going to be looking at that and going back and forth and making sure their votes are going in correctly. So, that may slow down our vote centers here at least in Noble County”
Williams disagreed saying she believed the confirmation will only add a couple of seconds to the time at the polls.
Trump and the GOP discouraged voters from voting early in 2020, again falsely claiming it was ripe with fraud. As a result, early voting numbers swung heavily in favor of the Democrats. This year, Williams said Republicans are taking a different approach.
“Democrats used the early voting technique to their advantage,” Williams said. “Republicans will be doing the same this year. That’s coming down from the national GOP to state GOP’s, to local GOP’s.”
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office said ensuring election integrity in Indiana is a “top priority for Secretary of State Diego Morales.”
A spokesperson said in an email that Morales has delivered roughly $3 million in election improvement grants to 90 counties since the start of the year.
Nearly one million voter registrations have been updated with more than 360,000 registrations being flagged as “inactive” and more than 470,000 obsolete registrations being flagged as canceled by country registration according to the email.
However, election officials in Northeast Indiana said they hardly know of any instances of voter fraud. A representative from the Noble County Election Board said she had not heard of any instances of voter fraud in 27 years.
Allen County Director of Elections Amy Scrogham said she only knows of one incident in 13 years, but she said it was simply someone who had forgotten they had voted early and tried to vote on Election Day.
The second ballot was flagged and not counted in that election.
Noble County GOP Chair Williams said Indiana’s policies should make the state an example for the rest of the country.
“Is there room for improvement?” Williams said. “Of course, but when you look at us compared to everyone else, we are an example for others to follow for sure.”
Allen County Democratic Party Chairman Derek Camp said he had a solution for those still doubting election integrity in Indiana.
“Be poll watchers,” Camp said. “More importantly, be a poll worker. With that, you see the process, and I’ve heard from the election board multiple times that they've had people come in that have questioned the process. They become a poll worker, and then they realize it is actually safe. These people are doing their job, and they’re doing it in a way that is fair.”
Voters must bring a valid photo ID with you to vote in person both early and on Election Day. Early voting in Indiana runs until Election Day on Nov 5.
How to Vote Early
Allen County voters can vote early at the Rousseau Centre in downtown Fort Wayne and from Oc. 28 to Nov. 2 at Indiana Wesleyan University on West Jefferson Boulevard, Ivy Tech Coliseum Campus on Anthony Boulevard, the Public Safety Academy on Patriot Crossing and Salomon Farm Park on Dupont Road.
Adams County voters can vote early at the Adams County Courthouse, Bridge Community Church and First Missionary Church.
DeKalb County voters can vote early at the DeKalb County Office Building and the New Hope Christian Center.
Huntington County voters can vote early at the Huntington County Clerk’s Office.
Kosciusko County voters can vote early until Nov. 1 at the Kosciusko County Justice Building and the North Webster Community Center on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2.
Voters who have registered in Noble County, can vote early now until Election Day at Stone’s Hill Church in Ligonier and Bridgeway Church in Kendallville.
Steuben County voters can vote early at the Steuben County Judicial Center and Saturdays only at St. Anthony Catholic Church.
Wells County voters can vote early at the Wells County Clerk’s Office and will have opportunities to vote at 4-H Park on Oct. 28 and 29, Lighted Gardens on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and Presbyterian Church on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2.
Whitley County voters can vote early at the Election office in the Whitley County Courthouse.
