The following is legislative analyst and social studies educator Randy Hudgins’ take on HB 1264 as it relates to Hamilton County. The status will be updated as the bill progresses.
Author: Timothy Wesco (R-Osceola)
Summary: HB 1264 addresses who can assist individuals register to vote and the process to follow in registering to vote. Language in the bill demands items that serve as a proof of residence for certain first-time voters. The argument for the bill is that a person could move but not tell the elections administration to purge them from the voter rolls.
The Bottom Line: Concerns were raised in testimony of the long and expensive process this would create for legal permanent residents due to delays in government agencies processing requests. Most controversially, there is a piece in the law that contracts with a company connected to Experian—which runs credit scores—to ascertain whether a person is spending money in a certain county and therefore still residing there. A major concern is a third-party entity getting access to a person’s consumer data without their permission, and passing it on to a local government entity. There is also a concern as to whether that information could possibly be compromised in a data leak. The same committee approved a bill to limit school referenda to general elections (and not primary elections, which have a lower turnout and better chance for passage).
Current Status
1/18/24: Passed out of Elections committee.
Relevant News Articles
Election Security bill with citizenship, credit agency data provisions moves to House floor (Indiana Capital Chronicle, 1/18/24)
What You Can Do
Call or email the bill’s author Timothy Wesco, the members of the Elections committee, and your own representative. Tell them you are opposed to the passage of HB 1264.
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