Sullivan
If you ever want to examine American patriotism in action, watch Americans vote. I say that firsthand after another successful election season in Indiana.
For 28 days leading up to May 3, Hoosiers took part in Indiana’s Primary Elections. I personally voted on Primary Day and then traveled to several polling locations across the state, talking with voters and election administrators.
In my conversations with Hoosiers, the word that continuously came up was “confidence.”
In Indiana, we have worked hard to build an election system that allows voters to confidently walk into their polling location and cast their ballot.
Hoosiers are confident in the security in place to protect their votes. They are confident in the measures taken to keep our elections free of outside interference. They are confident their vote counts.
Over the years, Indiana has established itself as a national leader regarding election security. Each voting system in Indiana is tested and certified by a non-partisan team. On top of that, none of the voting machines are ever connected to the internet.
We have a comprehensive cyber security approach that monitors our statewide voter registration system and during this year’s legislative session, I shepherded law to extend cybersecurity protection through 2028.
I also worked with the General Assembly to strengthen voter ID requirements for people requesting an absentee by mail ballot and ensure a paper record for every vote cast in Indiana by the 2024 General Election.
These paper records will enable Indiana to expand post-election audits.
After the 2020 general election, the state performed audits in five counties. In every race examined, the election outcome was confirmed with high levels of statistical assurance.
I am excited by those results, and I am equally excited to be doubling the number of post-election audits starting after the 2022 General Election.
It is no secret that there are outsiders that wish to influence our sovereign elections in the United States. The responsibility of protecting the integrity of those elections falls on each state’s Chief Elections Officer. As I am so proud of our electoral process in Indiana, we must continue to protect that process.
As your Secretary of State, I am constantly examining the systems we have in place, looking for best practices, and working with our 92 counties to implement solutions that make sense.
Before taking public office, I worked as an engineer in the auto-manufacturing industry. Every so often, we would pull a vehicle off the assembly line, at random, and perform a rigorous quality control check.
The expectation wasn’t that we would find anything wrong, but a deep inspection of our vehicles improved our process and was vital in maintaining the integrity of our product.
This is the same practice Indiana brings to our elections. We rigorously perform audits with a random sample of ballots, to ensure that we have processes in place that prevent errors.
While taking these steps, we have also made sure that voting is accessible and convenient. Our early voting period is among the longest in the country. And in most Indiana counties, voters aren’t restricted by precincts and can vote at any location in the county.
Hoosiers have confidence in our elections.
Having a fair process and representing the people’s will is the most crucial facet of our democracy.
I promise Hoosiers, in this office, we will continue to preserve their confidence.
Holli Sullivan is the Indiana Secretary of State. Send comments to [email protected].
