It's a subtle change, but one you'll probably notice when voting in Indiana this November

EVANSVILLE — The Vanderburgh County Democratic chair hadn't heard about a change in the way campaigners may approach voters on election day, which may speak to how quietly the change was made.

But voters may notice that candidates and workers making one last appeal to them before they cast their ballots on Nov. 5 may be standing a little farther from the polling place out of caution in light of changes to Indiana law. That could mean being approached a little bit earlier.

The author of the changes hopes they also reduce squabbling among opposing election workers.

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The law defining the "chute" where electioneering is forbidden changed effective July 1 from 50 feet "in length" from the entrance to polling places to a radius of 50 feet — meaning, essentially, 50 feet in any direction. The "chute" now also exists for early voting.

It won't be an imaginary line, either. Election boards are charged under law with providing "a method or material for designating the boundaries of the chute, such as a railing, rope, or wire on each side."

The changes to existing law were authored by Rep. Timothy Wesco , a Republican who has represented a legislative district based in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties since 2010. They were supported by all House members representing Southwest Indiana districts. Wesco is chairman of the House Elections and Apportionment Committee.

The law is intended to eliminate any confusion — and arguing — among opposing parties' election workers as voters vote, Wesco told the Courier & Press.

"There was some confusion related to whether (the chute) was a straight line — whether it was 50 feet from a door and five feet wide, 10 feet wide, or is it just anywhere 50 feet from the door," he said. "So we just essentially wanted to create a little bit more clarity and say it was a radius — in other words, anywhere you could measure 50 feet from the door would be considered the protected zone where electioneering couldn’t occur."

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But Wesco acknowledged he has repeatedly been "harassed" by opposing election workers while greeting voters outside the chute.

"As a candidate myself I have stood outside polling locations outside the 50-foot to electioneer, and I have been harassed by election workers who claimed that I was too close," he said.

There is one other recent change to election law designed to discourage unruly and disruptive behavior as votes are being cast.

Senate Bill 170, signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in March, "makes it a Level 6 felony under certain circumstances to: (1) threaten an election worker; or (2) to obstruct, interfere with, or injure an election worker," according to an Indiana General Assembly summary .

Transition of election leadership in Vanderburgh County is underway

Clerk Carla Hayden, Vanderburgh County's chief elections officer, is leaving office Aug. 29 because, she says, she can't face running another election involving former President Donald Trump after months of what she calls harassment by a tiny but "relentless" band of pro-Trump individuals demanding confidential voting records and threatening to come to polling places.

Ken Colbert, the acknowledged leader of the group, insists his requests for a dataset called "cast vote records" were not intended to uncover which candidates voters voted for, but to ensure that elections are free and fair.

Hayden said Wednesday that former Clerk Marsha Abell Barnhart, who will serve as a caretaker to run the election and as clerk for the remainder of the year, will begin shadowing her in the coming weeks.

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Hayden said Barnhart, who served as clerk from 1997 until 2005, needs no tutoring on how to do the job. She does need to familiarize herself with Odyssey, the case management system for the courts.

And then there's state-mandated "voter-verified paper audit trail" technology that Vanderburgh County has been using since the 2020 presidential election. Voters will use marking devices that produce paper ballots that they can use to verify their choices. Counting those takes longer than relying on software in the electronic voting machines the county used before 2020.

"She’s voted on it, but she’s never done anything else with it," Hayden said of Barnhart.

Chief Deputy Clerk Marc Toone said he and Barnhart have been conferring regularly by email.

"I’m just letting her know of things that are happening now, that could resurface after she’s here," Toone said. "So she’s in the loop."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: It's a subtle change, but one you'll probably notice when voting in Indiana this November