Monroe County Democratic Party

Satellite early voting is a community issue – something that makes voting more accessible for all the people of Monroe County, regardless of their political affiliation. As Kelly Smith, president of IU College Democrats said, this is “not a partisan issue – it’s a participation issue.”

Satellite voting allows people who work a chance to cast a ballot early at a location convenient to them – whether it’s near their home or workplace. One reason for satellite voting at IU is that it is the largest employer in Monroe County. It’s not just the students who vote early, but also the faculty and staff who live in every corner of our county. Additional sites in Ellettsville, Smithville, and on the south side of Bloomington allow other residents the chance to vote early at a time and location convenient to them.

But that’s apparently not how the local Republican party leadership views this issue, reports the Herald Times (subscription req’d):

Monroe County GOP Party Chairman Les Compton said he stands behind election board member Judith Smith-Ille — who has opposed opening any satellite voting sites for this fall’s election — and said anyone he appoints to the county election board in the future will not support such sites.

Compton said Wednesday he believes several Republican candidates lost races in 2008 due to heavy Democratic voter turnout at satellite sites in Ellettsville, on the city’s south side and on the Indiana University campus, most particularly on campus.

The Herald Times included a copy of Compton’s written statement, which reads in part:

“Any future appointment to the election board from this G.O.P [sic] Chairman will come with the assurance that they will not support Satellite Voting.”

In the past, Election Boards have been able to reach bipartisan agreement on the importance of helping the citizens of Monroe County vote.

Democratic Party Chair Rick Dietz said, "We will be revisiting this issue at the next Election Board meeting on September 14. We believe this issue is too important to let the self-proclaimed partisan self-interest of the Republican party stand in the way of convenient access to the ballot in Monroe County."

At last night's Election Board meeting, neither County Clerk Jim Fielder nor Republican Board member Judith Smith-Ille would second a motion to vote on satellite voting centers.

Before the Election Board met, Monroe County Democrats hosted a press conference at the Courthouse outlining the reasons in support of satellite voting centers for early voting. Speakers included representatives of the Help America Vote Act Advisory Council and the Voting Systems Advisory Board, along with IU College Democrats President Kelly Smith, County Commissioners President Patrick Stoffers, and State Representative Matt Pierce.

Congressman Baron Hill, who had previously announced his support for the satellite voting centers, reiterated that support yesterday. The Libertarian candidate in the 9th District, Greg Knott, agreed with Hill. Republican candidate Todd Young, after refusing to respond to Hill’s earlier prompts for his position on the issue, finally emailed a statement opposing the satellite voting centers to the Herald Times:

“But, in talking to the County Board of Elections, I have yet to be presented with any evidence of voter disenfranchisement or lack of polling capacity in Monroe County. Because of this, I do not see the creation of the satellite centers as an urgent necessity.”

Despite the support from elected officials and voters, the Election Board failed to act to provide the satellite voting centers.

At Monday night’s election board meeting, Ellis moved to allow three days of early voting each at four sites — Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, the Ellettsville fire station, the Indiana Memorial Union on the Indiana University campus and Redman Hall in Smithville. Her motion included stipulations that each site be inspected by a task force to ensure they were accessible to all.

But Monroe County Clerk Jim Fielder, an election board member, said he doesn’t believe early voting is necessary on the IU campus, citing historically low turnout at the five on-campus precincts open on Election Day and noting the site is close to the downtown Curry Building, where early voting is typically held.

He said his amendment to Ellis’ initial motion at last week’s meeting had been meant to replace the IU site with the Smithville site, which neither Ellis nor fellow election board member Judith Smith-Ille said they’d realized, instead believing he’d meant to add a fourth site.

“I’m still for satellite voting, but I don’t believe it’s necessary at IU,” he said after the meeting.

The Indiana Daily Student captured these reactions:

Bloomington resident Scott Campion addressed the need for citizens of the county to have every opportunity to vote, especially now that the potential sites had already been funded.

“You have the money. You have community support. You’ve got the time,” Campion said. “Why won’t you do it?” Smith said students have the right to easy voting access now as they did during the 2008 elections.

Justin Kingsolver, president of the IU College Republicans, felt differently.

“This is a partisan issue. I know you’re all saying that it isn’t, but it is,” Kingslover said. “We need to make it as easily possible to vote, but we must realize there are limits to that. Some sacrifices have to be made to vote.”

Jordan Emily, a political science student at IU, was disappointed by the meeting’s conclusion.

“I think it’s appalling because they’re clearly making it a partisan issue,” Emily said. “Students need to show up in numbers at the next meeting to defend the voting process.”

Note: the second paragraph was edited to correct the omission of a word. - BK

The Bloomington Herald-Times also covered our rally in support of satellite voting yesterday:

“We believe that each election should be better run, more accessible and more convenient for voters than the last,” Dietz said. “We respect each voter’s franchise by doing all we can to make voting as simple and accessible as possible. Satellite voting is one way we can do this.”

State Rep. Matt Pierce also attended, calling the county election board to make voting convenient for citizens.

He said the state Legislature required election boards’ votes on establishing satellite sites to be unanimous, but said that was done with the intention of not allowing one party to set sites that could potentially draw more of that party’s voters. Legislators intended for election board workers to negotiate such sites in good faith, he said, encouraging Monroe County’s election board to do just that.

“Let’s work together, both parties, in good faith,” Pierce said. “And let’s make sure we have a convenient, well functioning election session.”

County commissioners’ president Patrick Stoffers also spoke, saying, “We shouldn’t have less voting. We should have more voting.”

He pointed out the commissioners had brought forward a $12,000 appropriation request to pay for operating such satellite sites, which was recently approved by the county council.

And Kelly Smith — an IU senior who is both president of the IU College Democrats and part of a group called Students for Access to Voting Early, or SAVE — said her fellow students are both aware and engaged with the local community.

“This isn’t a partisan issue,” she said. “It’s a participation issue.”

To read the full story, see: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2010/08/30/news.qp-9277094.sto (Subscription Req’d)

WTIU covered our rally at the Courthouse yesterday in support of satellite voting centers in Monroe County.

“It seems like a significant enough community issue that raising the issue, having a dialogue in the community and seeing that there is real interest in satellite voting could change some opinions,” Dietz said.

Bloomington State Representative Matt Pierce said satellite voting helps alleviate some problems brought on by the crunch of Election Day.

“And what I’ve determined from studying our election system is the 12-hour, one-day voting process is pressure-packed,” he said. “You have to be perfect for that entire day. You have to count on everyone being trained to perfectly understand one of the most complicated election laws in the country. And it just doesn’t happen.”

See the full story here: http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/monroe-county-democrats-hold-rally-encourage-satellite-voting/

Last Wednesday, the Republican appointee to the Monroe County Election Board, Judith Smith-Ille, voted against creating satellite sites for early voting. Both Democratic Board member Jan Ellis and Republican County Clerk Jim Fielder voted for the measure, which needed unanimous approval to pass. The County Commissioners and County Council had previously authorized $12,000 in funds to pay for the satellite voting sites.

In the 2008 election, more than 4400 people in Monroe County voted early at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, at the Ellettsville fire station, and on the IU campus. A group of students from IU, led by Kelly Smith, made a factual and impassioned pitch to again have a satellite early voting center at IU. Other community members also made the case for the early voting sites, and a letter from County Commissioner Patrick Stoffers was read into the record:

Dear Election Board Members,

I respectfully request the election board to authorize satellite voting to take place during the fall election in Monroe County. Satellite voting was quite successful in 2008 with 4,486 voters participating at the three sites (Ellettsville 998, Campus 2,263, and Sherwood Oaks 1,225). Former election board member Jack Schmit (R) noted in his comments to Bethany Nolan of the Herald-Times (10/25/2008) "they’ve [satellite sites] done their job this cycle by drawing off voters to lessen the pressure at the polls on Election Day". I couldn't agree more.

As you know the Monroe County Council last night appropriated $12,000 for satellite voting purposes for this years election. And the commissioners are by this letter today publicly committing to making our TSD staff available to our election officials to facilitate satellite voting.

Historically, our county election board has found a way to collaborate and work together to put voters first in past election cycles. And I expect nothing less from our current election board.

But despite the overwhelming support of the crowd in attendance, satellite voting did not receive the unanimous consent it needed to move forward. GOP Board member Judith Smith-Ille told the standing-room-only crowd, "I don’t think there’s a lot of interest" in this election. Thanks to CATS, you can watch the entire Election Board meeting online, or download a video of the meeting. [Link] (CATS will also broadcast the meeting several times throughout the week.)

This fight is not over.

Please join us for a rally in support of satellite voting centers tomorrow - Monday - in the Courthouse Rotunda at 11:30am. Speakers will include elected officials, member(s) of the voting systems advisory council, and more. Topics will include satellite voting in Indiana election law, the Commissioners's and Council's request to the Election Board, and the impact of satellite voting in 2008.

The Election Board meets again on Monday, August 30, at 5:15pm in the Justice Building at 301 N College Ave - and satellite voting sites are again on the agenda.

For more information on the Election Board, including agendas and minutes of past meetings, see monroedems.org/electionboard

The Bloomington Herald-Times published an editorial in today's paper lamenting the GOP vote against satellite voting centers for November's election. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the paper or read it online, but if you don't have a subscription, here's an excerpt:

But these arguments are as thin as a paper ballot. Voting centers encourage voting — a laudable goal no matter how extensive an election. In many ways, local elections have as great or greater impact on people’s daily lives as national elections. Local elected officials make decisions on important government services such as public safety, planning and zoning, roads and parks. To say that this election doesn’t warrant voting centers because it’s only a “county” election is a slight to our hard-working elected leaders.

In addition, the assertion that voting centers “favor” one class of voters is spurious. Making the election process more convenient for greater numbers of voters, many of whom have perhaps been disenfranchised from the process, allows more citizens to participate and leads to government that is more representative of the people. Satellite voting at more centrally located sites near to where people shop, work or attend classes is an obvious way to reach more voters of all demographics and political views, not just one class.

Finally, the argument that some precincts only have a few voters is not an argument against voting centers; it’s an argument for better consolidation of precincts.

For too long, unfounded fears of “voter fraud” kept our government from taking steps to make it easier for citizens to exercise their most fundamental right. Now that we have tested voting centers and proved they are working, it’s hardly a time to step backward.

The Monroe County Election Board should reverse last week’s decision and approve satellite voting centers for the fall election. The citizens of Monroe County deserve it.

This past Wednesday, the Republican's appointed Monroe County Election Board member voted "nay", denying our community the unanimous vote needed to authorize satellite voting in Monroe County. Before the Election Board meeting, our elected County Council and Commissioners acted in the interest of our community, providing funding for 12 days of Satellite voting as sites to be determined by the Election Board.

All Forums will be located at Ivy Tech Community College, 200 Daniels Way, 7-9p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Documents filed today with the Indiana Election Commission show that Republican Kevin Suddeth is not a legally qualified candidate for state representative in District 61. 
 

We've compiled a full list of Democratic candidates here: monroedems.org/candidates. If you're on Facebook, you can also check out our listing of our candidates with Facebook pages.

We're always adding new information, so check back often.

And while we'd love it if you got to know our candidates a little better online, we'd like it even better if you got to know them in person. The coming weeks are full of events that will give you the opportunity to meet our candidates. Check out our calendar for a sampling of the events that are coming up:

• Lunch with the Democratic Women's Club, featuring Vi Simpson & Peggy Welch
• Monroe County Fair
• A picnic for Chris Gaal
• Brunch with Cheryl Munson & Linda Robbins
• The Democratic Women's Caucus celebration of Women's Equality Day

As always, keep an eye on your email and this site for more events.

This is the culminating event of our 2010 Membership drive. Everyone already contributing to our membership drive is invited, and new members are welcome to join on the spot! State Auditor candidate Sam Locke will be joining us along with our local candidates.

What: FDR Gala - Monroe County Democratic Party 2010 Membership Campaign Closing Celebration
Where: Showers Plaza Atrium (West side of Showers Building)
When: Friday, July 9 6-8PM
Why: To build a stronger party & to help keep Indiana blue!
Who: 2010 Contributing Members

Please join us at the Showers Plaza Atrium, along with local office holders and 2010 candidates to bring our first annual membership campaign to a successful close! We look forward to seeing you there. And don't forget to bring a friend!

For more information on our membership drive, see http://www.monroedems.org/2010memdrive

The state convention is this Saturday, and our Monroe County delegates will help choose the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State.

The convention kicks off Friday night with early delegate registration, the State Committee meeting, the convention of county party officers, and - of course - the hospitality suites. (See the attached document for a full schedule of hospitality suites.)

Things get going Saturday morning with special caucus meetings at 9:00am. The caucuses will be followed by district meetings at 11:00am.

The main program of the convention, including the nominations for state Treasurer, Auditor, and Secretary of State, will begin at 1:00pm, and last until about 4:45pm. (See the attached document for a full schedule of the day's events.)

Don't miss Baron Hill's remarks, which should come at around 1:45pm.

Delegates can register at early registration on Friday, from 4:00pm-10:00pm, or Saturday from 7:00am until Noon.

[Update, 25 June, by Eric: I am attaching the Convention Schedule and information about the Hospitality Suites.]

Thanks to all our delegates for coming out to the meeting tonight, and a special thank you to the statewide candidates in attendance: Tom McKenna, Vop Osili, and Sam Locke.

At the meeting, several delegates expressed interest in seeing the state party rules. I've attached a PDF copy of the party's rules below; you can also find a copy at the state party's website.

A copy of the 2010 platform isn't immediately available. I've attached a PDF copy of the 2008 state platform below. (Special thanks our friends at the Floyd County Democratic Party for making this available.)

Well, the 2010 Primary Election is now past us, and we head into the General Election cycle. Congratulations to all those candidates who won their primaries! And condolences to those who didn't make it.

Attached, you will find two PDF files. The first contains the election results for the races for elected office. The second contains the results for precinct chair persons and state convention delegates. Republican numbers are also included, so that we know who we're running against.

On behalf of the Party, I want to thank all our candidates and volunteers for all your hard work and perseverance! Good fortune to you (us) all in November!

Update: View photos of the Kickoff Reception here.

Democratic friends,

2008 was a historic election for Monroe County, for Indiana and for our Nation. For the first time in decades, the concerted effort of Democrats across the state put Indiana in the Democratic column.

There are communities larger than us in Indiana, but none in Indiana speaks with as bold and strong a voice as Monroe County and Bloomington for progressive Democratic values. The centrality of Monroe County to Democratic success in the 9th District and in 2008’s Presidential Election cannot be denied or ignored. We now know that Indiana can go blue, something I never thought I’d see. But we also know that Indiana’s hue is up to me and you. Our strength, our vision, and our hard work is the margin of victory in the 9th District and Indiana.

Although we have done well in the past, the revelation of a blue Indiana is calling us to do more:
• to exert greater Monroe County influence in state and national politics,
• to provide better support for local candidates, office holders, democratic volunteers and voters,
• to improve our “Get Out the Vote” program and election mechanics,
• to fully and reliably fund our day-to-day headquarters operations, and
• to establish a capital fund for the eventual purchase of a headquarters.

All politics is local. But sadly almost none of the donations are. In order to seize this opportunity to shape our
state and national parties and our state and national politics, we need a new financial strategy for our local party.

We are launching our first annual membership drive for the Monroe County Democratic Party (MCDP). It starts with your receipt of this letter and our March 27th membership kickoff and will end on June 5 with an FDR gala event for our new MCDP Members. If you are already a current Foundation or Honor Roll donor you are already a 2010 member; if not, you can become an Monroe County Democratic Party member today! Join the Monroe County Democratic Party.

Keep Indiana Blue!

Rick Dietz
MCDP Chair

Believe it or not, Election 2010 is under way! And if you are planning to run for public office, or for Precinct Chair, or even as a delegate to the Indiana Democratic Convention (June 20-21), you need to complete an application and turn it in to the Monroe County Clerk's office by noon, this coming Friday, February 19.

As of this writing, we have only 21 precincts in Monroe County that have anyone running for Precinct Chairperson! If you are currently serving in this role and wish to continue, please complete form CAN-37 and file it at the Clerk's office by noon on Friday. Better yet, get this done by Thursday, and avoid the last minute rush!

To file as a candidate for public office, you need to complete the CAN-2 form.

Various other forms and instructions can be found on the Indiana Secretary of State website.