Former Lt. Govs. Mutz, Davis say Indiana won't expand mail voting because of President Trump

Chris Sikich
Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana lieutenant governors John Mutz and Kathy Davis are calling for Gov. Eric Holcomb to expand absentee mail-in voting for the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying they believe he and other election officials are caving to pressure from President Donald Trump. 

While Holcomb and Indiana Republicans moved to allow all Hoosier voters to mail their ballots for the June primary, they so far have been resisting efforts to expand it in November, saying it's unnecessary because Indiana is no longer under a stay-at-home order.  Democrat party leaders support expanding absentee voting, but doing so takes an agreement between both parties. 

Mutz, 84, a former Republican state lawmaker who served under Republican Robert Orr from 1980-88, and Davis, 64, who served under Democrat Joe Kernan from 2003-2005, announced at a news conference Friday they have joined Indiana Vote by Mail, a nonprofit that's pushing to expand absentee voting. 

"I think the resistance comes from pressure from Washington, D.C.," Mutz said. "I think these local officials are concerned by what Donald Trump may think about it. And that's unfortunate because they have a job to do and if they do it well the public will be for it."

Mutz noted the president has questioned the security of voting by mail without offering proof. 

"The other thing that's going on here is that Donald Trump is behind in the polls," Mutz said, "He realizes he may lose and he wants an excuse. If he can say it's rigged, that's an excuse. So I think that's what's going on." 

Former Indiana Lt. Gov. John Mutz helped build strong relationships with Japanese companies, such as Subaru, back in the 1980s.

Davis said she agreed with Mutz's assessments on Trump. Mutz and Davis also said Hoosiers shouldn't have to put their health at risk to vote in the November election. Both said voting by mail has proven to be secure and should be an option for Hoosiers. 

"Fear of voting is suppression of voting," Davis said, "and that's not what we want." 

Holcomb has been asked repeatedly at news conferences about expanding absentee voting and has denied that he's being influenced by Trump. While Holcomb has said he thinks mail-in voting is secure, he has said he thinks expanding mail-in voting is unnecessary in November.  At his Wednesday media briefing he said things were different in March, when he made the decision to move the primary a month forward to June, because Indiana was under a stay-at-home order. 

"Now Hoosiers can go out," he said. "Now you can vote almost a month in advance...and there are various options if you can't vote in person."

Indiana Vote by Mail also has submitted a petition for the state to call an election commission meeting to consider expanding mail-in voting and filed a lawsuit in federal court to compel the state to expand absentee voting. It's one of at least three lawsuits pending in federal court to challenge the way Indiana conducts the election. 

"It's impossible for me to imagine why we would want to deprive Hoosier voters the right to vote at a time when a number of people are afraid to leave their homes, let alone go to a polling place," Mutz said. 

Davis said Indiana officials should do more to encourage Hoosiers to vote, including by expanding absentee voting.

"We encourage people to vote and to participate," she said, "and of course we also encourage people to be very cautious in their day-to-day lives so they are not infected by the COVID-19 virus. I think that if we can eliminate any fear associated with voting then we are serving both purposes." 

Indiana Vote by Mail files lawsuit

Attorney William Groth filed a lawsuit in April on behalf of Indiana Vote by Mail Inc., arguing that allowing only certain voters to cast absentee ballots during a national health emergency violates the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment and the age-discrimination clause in the 26th Amendment.  

Indiana law allows voting by mail for a number of reasons, such as having a disability, being over 65 years old or being at work or out of the county the entire time the polls are open. The list does not include the coronavirus. 

Kathy Davis said Wednesday that she has resigned as U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly's campaign treasurer because of the Indiana Democrat’s unsuccessful vote earlier this week to strip funding from Planned Parenthood. Davis is a former Indiana lieutenant governor.

Before the primary, Holcomb, Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer and Democratic Party Chairman John Zody held a press conference to say they supported the expansion of mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The four-member Indiana Election Commission, which includes two Republicans and two Democrats, then paved the way for that to happen. 

The four members, who are appointed by the party chairs, are split on expanding voting in November. Democrats Anthony Long and Suzannah Overholt support expanding voting while Republicans Paul Okeson and Zachary Klutz do not. 

Separately, Common Cause Indiana has filed two federal lawsuits regarding Indiana's election. Friday, Common Cause, along with the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP, filed a lawsuit challenging the noon deadline to receive absentee ballots on Election Day. The groups argue ballots received up to when the polls close at 6 p.m. should be counted. 

Earlier this month, Common Cause also filed a lawsuit to overturn a 2019 election law prohibiting voters, political parties and candidates from asking a court to keep polling locations open past the 6 p.m. closing time if they encounter voting problems. 

Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at 317-444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.