Board approves absentee requests

The Monroe County election board said Monday it has no choice but to approve the remaining applications for mail-in absentee ballots, despite questions about more than 200 requests filled out at IU greek houses.\nAt a meeting Monday night, the election board addressed the controversy over requests from members of five IU fraternity and sorority houses for mail-in absentee ballots. Each student who submitted a ballot request claimed he or she could not attend the polls on election day due to work-related conflicts.\nAlthough board members expressed some doubt as to whether the students' reasons for requesting absentee ballots were honest, they said there is nothing they can do but grant their requests.\n"I have no choice," said Monroe County Clerk and election board member Jim Fielder. "There is no way of enforcing what you put on the ballots as being the truth. We have to leave that up to your conscience."\nLast week, Fielder, a Republican, told the IDS that he planned on calling students to ask them if they intended to work for 12 hours on election day, which would have prevented them from attending the polls. But last night Fielder said that is not an option because election laws require absentee ballot requests to be granted within a specific time frame.\nElection board member Jack Davis, a Democrat, said he believes it is possible the students were misled into submitting the application for the absentee ballots. He said some students might be under the impression that it makes no difference where a voter casts his or her vote. He requested that a letter of clarification be mailed along with the absentee ballot.\n"(Including a letter) will allow any student who has mistakenly requested a mail-in absentee ballot to correct their mistake before it's too late," Davis said.\nHowever, election laws prohibit any such letter from being mailed. Since the letter would only be sent to students and not other voters who have already received an absentee ballot, the letter would discriminate against student voters.\nBut even if some applicants were not honest in their excuse for an absentee ballot request, Fielder said they could not be found guilty of perjury. As stated at the bottom of an absentee ballot application, a registered voter can only be held accountable for perjury if he or she gives false information about meeting the residency requirements, claiming to be a registered and qualified voter and residing at the address he or she lists on the application.\nDemocratic Party chairman Dan Combs said he was not surprised by the board's decision, but he said the issue of the validity of the ballots is still questionable.\n"All that was decided was that the county is required by law to mail the absentee ballots to those who applied," Combs said. "They didn't say anything along the lines of whether or not the votes will count, and that's the main issue here."\nDespite the decision to grant the remaining absentee ballot requests, Fielder said the possibility of a challenge remains a viable threat. In order to avoid a challenge, Fielder said anyone who has requested an absentee ballot under a false excuse, should report to the city clerk's office and vote in person. He said several students, including many from the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, have already come forward to vote in person.\n"I know (after election day) we're not going to put this one to bed for a while," Fielder said. "Anyone who has signed up (for an absentee ballot and lied) come on in and vote, so you can get rid of all this muddy water."\n-- Contact senior writer Colin Kearns at cmkearns@indiana.edu.