By Marilyn Odendahl for The Indiana Citizen.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Citizen-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Not sure you have time to vote?

IN Tech for Progress, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis, has updated its app - Indianavotetimes.org - to help you find the shortest wait time to cast your ballot so you can still do whatever else you need to do that day. The app, currently listing information for only Marion, Boone and Vigo counties, shows each voting center in those counties and then gives the estimated time Hoosiers will have to wait in line to get to the check-in table, where they sign the poll book and get their ballot.

Roger Deetz, CEO and founder of IN Tech for Progress, said the hope is that the app will help encourage more people to vote and improve Indiana's poor voter turnout rate. The state has been falling in voter participation compared to other states, dropping from 38^th place in the 2012 presidential election to 46^th in 2020, according to the 2023 Indiana Civic Health Index.

"As Indiana technology workers, we're passionate about a thriving democracy, and if we can give back to the community to help sort of improve Indiana's civic engagement ... (we) were interested in doing that," Deetz said.

IN Tech for Progress led the development of the updated app with help from 10 to 12 volunteers who contributed over the course of 2024. The app runs on IN Tech for Progress systems.

The voting times app is accessible from any web browser, whether on a desktop or mobile device. Voters can visit the website, select one of the three available counties and then see the voting centers that are open, when they will close and how long the wait times are for each location.

Since Marion, Boone and Vigo counties use vote centers, Deetz said, voters can use the app to determine which voting site is best for them by seeing where the sites are located and how long the wait times are.

Although the app was launched Oct. 8, the day early voting began in Indiana, the voting sites are showing "wait time not reported" because little or no data has been entered. However, voters can bolster the app's pool of data by tapping the "Check In" button at the bottom of the screen and inputting real-time information. Once they have accessed the app, voters are asked two questions - how many people are standing in line ahead of you and how many people are behind you - and the answers are put through an algorithm, which calculates the wait time.

"We're hoping folks, just out of civic spirit, will check in and kind of share their experience," Deetz said.

Deetz emphasized IN Tech does not collect, share or sell any data on individual voters who use the app. In the past, the nonprofit provided aggregated data to some legislators who had questions about vote centers, which he sees as helping to achieve the app's mission.

IN Tech's goal is to not only provide a "great tool just for citizens to help them successfully vote," Deetz said, but also to help inform public policy. If voters have to wait in long lines, he added, perhaps the aggregated data from the app can offer some insight for conversations about the number and locations of voting centers.

"People, in my view, shouldn't have to wait very long to vote," Deetz said.

The pastrami on rye test

The app was initially developed and introduced for the November 2020 election, when the presidential contest between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden was anticipated to attract more voters than usual.

In that first year, the app gave wait times for only Marion County vote centers and relied on about 100 volunteers stationed at polling sites to input the data about the number of people waiting in line, Deetz said. About 60,000 voters in Indianapolis used the app during the 2020 election, he said, which signaled a demand for wait-time information.

However, the tech team realized the use of volunteers would not be scalable as they included more counties, Deetz said. So, the developers rebuilt the internal machinery to use crowdsourced submissions.

A version "halfway in between" using wait time info from both volunteers and voters was offered for the 2022 November mid-term election, Deetz said. The "pathetic turnout" for the election in Indiana, he said, did not yield much insight for the tech team, because so few voters showed up at the polls and used the app.

Meeting in January 2024, the tech crew sketched a project plan and then began completely redesigning the 2020 app, Deetz said. The team made a handful of fixes and small improvements, so the app would be more functional for voters in more counties.

"We took a lot of inspiration from the design of that first app," Deetz said. "We learned what worked well and what didn't and what was kind of hard for us to manage, and we tried to incorporate that into the design for the new 2024 version."

During the development phase, the team dispatched a volunteer to Shapiro's Delicatessen, south of downtown Indianapolis, to test the accuracy of the algorithm that is used to crunch the crowdsourced data. The volunteer observed the lunch line and inputted the data into the app, which was then run through the algorithm to learn how long diners would have to wait to get their sandwiches.

"It worked out really well," Deetz said of the deli test.

Boone and Vigo counties were selected for the expansion because they have vote centers, Deetz said. Also, because Vigo is home to Indiana State University and Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, IN Tech is hoping students will provide a lot of crowdsourced data.

IN Tech aims to have the app collecting and dispensing voting wait times for every Indiana county by either the 2026 mid-term or the 2028 general election, Deetz said.

As early voting hours expand and voting centers open on Saturday, Deetz expects more wait-time information will be entered and the app will become more useful to voters. Also Deetz said he is hopeful voter turnout will increase.

"We want to make Indiana a great place to live and work and we believe part of that means political change," Deetz said, adding IN Tech is not affiliated with any political party or any candidate running for office. "Just having (tech) folks that are willing to do some extra work, nights and weekends, and being civically inspired, I think that's a great indicator that there is a community here willing to work towards that vision for Indiana."


Marilyn Odendahl wrote this article for The Indiana Citizen.


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Florida is expecting a high voter turnout for next week's election and election officials are working urgently to make it happen, addressing the challenges created by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Election supervisors are making last-minute adjustments to ensure safe and accessible polling options, after the storms damaged critical infrastructure across several counties.

Sandra Pavelka, professor of political science and public administration at Florida Gulf Coast University, said the storms added "tremendous challenges" to election preparations, particularly in the hardest-hit areas.

"Florida and the Southeast have experienced two major hurricanes right before the election, within two weeks of each other," Pavelka noted. "It's not only affecting the voter administrators but also the volunteers, the poll workers and the voters themselves."

In response to the damage, the Florida Supervisors of Elections Association collaborated with Gov. Ron DeSantis's office to implement emergency measures. DeSantis signed an executive order allowing adjustments to polling places, drop boxes, and vote-by-mail procedures in 20 counties significantly affected by the storms.

Dave Ramba, executive director of the Florida Supervisors of Elections Association, said emergency provisions have allowed them to adjust as necessary in areas where polling locations have been severely affected, like in St. Petersburg, where some polling sites are under sand.

"They've been wiped off the face of the coast of Florida, so clearly, we're not going to have that as a polling place," Ramba observed. "So, we worked for the governor's office, on individual counties, both on relocating some polling places inside the deadline that currently exists in law. But also allowing for some extension of time for early voting."

Pavelka urged Floridians to verify their polling locations and understand the voting options available, and stressed there is much more on the ballot than the presidential race. It also includes proposals to legalize marijuana use and reverse the state's newly enacted six-week abortion bank.

"Obviously, the natural disaster and these hurricanes we faced present a challenge, probably a greater challenge than we realize," Pavelka emphasized. "It's still important, going into the election and going into the vote, to do your research."

Ramba said he frequently travels and prefers to vote by mail, which offers convenience as well as a confirmation when his vote is counted. He stressed the importance of planning, just in case, for disrupted polling site access.

"Early voting is open across the state now," Ramba added. "If you're excited about it and you know you're going to vote, just go out and vote sometime in the next week and a half. If you wait 'til Election Day and there's a car accident or there's a holdup, or a protest or a thunderstorm, you know, it may impair your ability to vote."

Many voters in New Mexico are wondering why former President Donald Trump plans tomorrow's visit to a state where polls showed a firm Democratic lead.

It is only Trump's second visit to the state since 2019 when he departed with an unpaid bill for an Albuquerque event exceeding $200,000.

David Becker, founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said he has no idea why Trump plans to visit Albuquerque again. But he noted some candidates act like they're going to win, while others act like they might be losing.

"When, as is highly likely, Donald Trump declares victory on Tuesday night, listen carefully to what he said, when he said it, how he said it," Becker cautioned. "Because if he claims there's widespread fraud and talks about noncitizen voting, it's likely he thinks he's losing."

A poll this week by the Albuquerque Journal showed Vice President Kamala Harris has a significant advantage over Trump in the state. Roughly 50% of registered voters told the newspaper they planned to vote or have already voted for Harris, while 41% said they were voting for Trump. Information on how to cast a ballot is online at Vote411.org.

Becker called the recent firebombing of ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon horrific and not something we're used to seeing in the U.S. He has advice for those who have not returned their mail ballots.

"I would advise, at this point, anyone who's holding on to a mail ballot that intends to cast their mail ballot should return it directly to election officials," Becker urged. "Either through a drop box, or directly at an election office or at a polling place. I would advise not to put it in the U.S. mail."

Law enforcement officials said hundreds of ballots may have been destroyed in Washington, while a fire suppressant protected most of the ballots in Portland, Oregon. New Mexico was one of several states in 2020 where Republican electors attempted to cast ballots indicating Donald Trump had won, a scheme that eventually resulted in criminal charges against Trump and his associates.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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With the election just a week away, advocates for fair elections in Montana met recently as part of a coalition to highlight efforts to protect voting rights at the state and federal levels.

While the group said there has been progress, challenges remain. The event highlighted recent victories in the ongoing struggles to educate voters and ensure transparency at the ballot box.

Walter Schweitzer, president of the Montana Farmer's Union, said no matter a voter's political stripe, it is important for people to vote but also to advocate for fair and open elections.

"This is about showing up for the future of our state," Schweitzer asserted. "Encourage your neighbors, family and friends to stay engaged. Don't just vote. Keep pushing for transparency and fairness in our elections. Montana depends on all of us."

Advocates cited a Montana Supreme Court decision striking down laws which would have made remote ballot collection more difficult, for example, which is especially important on Montana's seven tribal reservations.

Tribal advocacy groups have been working to help register Montana's Indigenous population to vote and collect their ballots when transportation is a problem for people on tribal lands. Schweitzer argued efforts aimed at limiting remote ballot collection damage the state and nation's democratic process and exactly the wrong direction for Montana to go.

"In recent years, we've seen attempts to erode trust in our democratic institutions," Schweitzer observed. "It's not just happening far away. It's happening here at home. Efforts to make it harder for Montanans to vote are a direct challenge to our values."

The election is a week from today, although mail in balloting is already underway in Montana and other states.


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