It’s less than two weeks until Hoosiers will go to the polls Nov. 5.
Between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monroe County voters will be able to vote for a range of offices, from the president of the United Stated to U.S. Congress to county level positions.
To find out what is on your ballot, visit vote.org/ballot-information/.
If you are registered to vote in Indiana, you can find your polling location by visiting indianavoters.in.gov and find the icon that says, “Find Your Polling Place.” Then, enter your name, date of birth and county of current registration.
The results will give you the name of your polling place, the address and hours of the location and offer an option for directions using Google Maps. Polling locations are determined by the precinct that you live in. In Monroe County, there are 30 poll sites.
If you are registered in a state other than Indiana and will be traveling there to vote, you can visit vote.org/polling-place-locator/ to find the polling place locator for your state.
There are several options for transportation to the polls. For IU students, faculty, staff and visitors, riding a Campus Bus is a free and easy way to travel. IU Students, faculty and staff may also ride any Bloomington Transit bus for free by showing their IU ID when boarding.
Through TurboVote, the IU Student Government is offering all Monroe County residents two free Uber rides to reach the polls. The voucher covers two rides and requires an Uber account. Visit iu.turbovote.org to claim.
The voucher is currently active until Nov. 5 at 9 p.m. It is valid from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The voucher must be used within Monroe County.
Along with this, Lyft is offering discounted rides on Election Day. Using the code VOTE24 between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Election Day, riders can receive a 50% discount up to $10 on a ride.
On Uber, riders can use the ‘Go Vote’ tile on the app and receive 50% off a single ride, up to $10. The offer begins at midnight and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Election Day. Also, Uber is offering 25% off UberEats orders, a discount of up to $15 on orders of at least $25. This offer begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 and ends at 7 a.m. Nov. 6.
Access to transportation is a significant obstacle to voting. A study conducted in Michigan by Assistant Professor Justin de Benedictis-Kessner at Harvard University and Associate Professor Maxwell Palmer at Boston University suggests that policymakers try to lessen the disparity in voting between those with and without cars by placing polling places in walkable locations. Also, the study proposes that policymakers broaden access to early and absentee voting.
The study concluded that 66% of residents with a car voted in the 2018 midterm election, while only 36% of residents without a car voted in the same election.
The study stated that differing access to cars in different race and age groups can explain many of the race- and age-based variances in participation.
If you are unable to make it to your designated poll on Election Day, early voting is available until noon Nov. 4 at Election Operations at 302 S. Walnut St. When voting absentee-by-mail, county election officials must have received the absentee-by-mail ballot no later than 6 p.m. on Election Day.
