No-excuse absentee voting by mail in the 2020 general election should be adopted throughout the state of Indiana.

Why? Because most experts agree that the coronavirus pandemic will not be over in November. Conducting in-person voting will put many Hoosiers at risk of exposure to this deadly virus and may put their lives in danger should they contract the disease.

Recently, the CDC reported that people who become infected and have underlying health conditions are six times more likely to be hospitalized and twelve times more likely to die than those without these conditions. The conditions, diabetes and heart disease, which includes coronary heart disease and hypertension are endemic to the Hoosier voting population.

Of the approximately 4 million registered voters in Indiana who are less than 65 years old, approximately 1.3 million of them have hypertension, 260 thousand have coronary heart disease, and 400 thousand have diabetes. That means that almost one-half of Indiana voters younger than 65 years of age have conditions that could lead to serious consequences should they contract coronavirus while voting in-person.

Because we have a safe alternative voting method (no-excuse absentee voting) this risk to our citizens is unnecessary. Our recent primary election showed that no-excuse vote by mail worked very well and kept our vulnerable citizens safe.

I urge the governor and state legislator and request that they demonstrate their commitment to the health and safety of ALL Indiana voters by making no-excuse voting by mail in the November 2020 general election a reality.

Guy Sides