Julia Vaughn has been hearing a question from voters she says she’s never been asked in previous cycles: “Do I need a passport to cast a ballot?”
They don’t, the Common Cause Indiana executive director tells them. But the question itself, she said, illustrates how proposals to change election laws, court battles and conflicting information have left some voters uncertain about exactly what to do heading into November’s election.
“There is just a tremendous amount of confusion around voting here in Indiana and across the country right now,” Vaughn told Capital B Gary. “People don’t know what to believe. They don’t know what to think. There’s all this misinformation that just bubbles around.”
Common Cause is one of a handful of groups that are working to protect the rights of Gary residents to cast ballots in the next election. The group is one of four that in 2025 sued the state of Indiana in an effort to overturn a pair of election laws that they argue causes a lot of confusion.
The groups are working to ensure that voters know their rights, are still registered to vote after policy changes that have been enacted in the past few months, and know where to vote and how.
The mobilization in Gary parallels a similar push at the national level. The efforts have intensified since President Donald Trump began pushing for changes to mail-in ballots, new voter ID laws, and new congressional maps that weaken Black and Hispanic political power.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said his organization and others are prepping volunteers to observe the election process and respond to potential disruptions.
“What we’re preparing for is having people in the room, so when it does happen, we can have the appropriate response,” Johnson said during a voting-rights panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington this month.
“As we fight in the court, as we develop communication strategies to engage our people, we also have to have people on the ground moving infrequent voters.”
How are Gary’s elections being protected?
Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization, is planning to deploy election-protection volunteers to be stationed outside selected polling locations to distribute information about voters’ rights and direct those experiencing problems to a national hotline.
Another nonpartisan group, Indivisible Northwest Indiana, is sending volunteers to Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties to help residents check their registrations, locate polling places, and learn about Indiana’s early voting.
Kim Eldridge, the organization’s president, said her organization has heard from voters who discovered problems with their registrations. Her husband, she said, learned before the election in May that he needed to register again despite having lived and voted at the same address for 25 years.
She also wants local governments to do more. She said cities should be publishing early-voting schedules and polling locations online but also making printed information available in places like city halls.
“People need that information, and you can’t leave people behind just because they’re not online or on social media.”
What election monitors will do
As part of its 2026 election effort, Common Cause plans to send thousands of trained, nonpartisan volunteers to assist voters at community polling places, including those in Gary.
“We are looking for field volunteers in Lake County,” Vaughn says. “We actually have stipends available to pay people for their time.”
The organization has not yet disclosed the stipend amount.
Volunteers will not work for election officials or political campaigns but will instead help voters find reliable information. They will also document problems and refer complicated cases to trained legal professionals.
“Our goal is that everybody who is entitled and eligible to vote is able to easily cast their ballot,” Vaughn said.
The field program uses voter advocates stationed outside polling places as well as roving monitors who travel from site to site.
Their responsibilities can include:
- answering questions about voting rights
- directing voters to their correct polling location
- watching for long lines, voter intimidation, or other access problems
- reporting potential problems to organizers and legal professionals in order to seek assistance from election officials
Indiana volunteers receive training and support from Common Cause Indiana and the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
Residents interested in the field program can register at ProtectTheVote.net Applicants will be contacted with information about training, polling place assignments, and available shifts.
Legal professionals – including lawyers, paralegals and law students – can also apply separately to assist the Election Protection hotline.
Why has there been so much confusion about elections this year?
Some of the confusion for Hoosiers stems from a pair of recent state laws requiring authorities to check the citizenship status of certain registered voters.
Common Cause Indiana was one of four groups that sued the state over those laws, arguing they unfairly burdened naturalized citizens by requiring some to provide additional proof of citizenship to register or remain registered to vote. A federal judge dismissed their challenge earlier this month, meaning citizenship checks will continue to take place.
Another confusing thing for voters has been whether their mail-in ballots will be accepted.
The U.S. Supreme Court this month ruled against an executive order that would have required last-minute changes to Indiana’s mail-in ballot process. The decision allows Indiana counties to move ahead with their plans to issue mail ballots.
In Indiana, voters who want a mail-in ballot have to have a state-designated reason for requesting one, such as taking care of a sick person or being over 65 years old. There are 12 qualifying reasons.
County clerks’ offices in the state begin sending out mail-in ballots Sept. 19. Hoosiers have until Oct. 22 to request a mailed ballot.
