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    Indiana University Student Rejected Surveys After Software Bug

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    Josh Montagne, a sophomore at Indiana University, was full of excitement as he headed to the polls on Tuesday, the first day of voting for the fall election, but he left bitterly disappointed when poll workers turned him away.

    Montagne said he went to the elections office at 302 S. Walnut St. in the afternoon and brought his CrimsonCard, an IU-issued identification card with his name, a photo and an expiration date.

    However, he said poll workers told him he couldn't vote without providing proof of residency.

    “It was heartbreaking,” he said.

    Montagne, a political science student, said he looks forward to voting for people whose campaigns he has worked on and for Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. president.

    General election 2024: What you should know about voting in Bloomington, Monroe County

    Montagne said he voted easily with his CrimsonCard in the spring primary election. He has since moved but said he updated his voter registration with his new address.

    A glitch and an error will result in the voter being rejected

    Monroe County Elections Director Kylie Farris said she believes Montagne's situation was at least partially due to a computer error.

    She said the county's electronic poll books are updated via hotspots and should be updated automatically every two minutes. However, because Tuesday was the first day of voting, she suspects the poll book failed to sync properly, resulting in Montagne's voter registration record being flagged.

    Farris said she alerted poll book seller Know Inc. to the issue and checked to see if Montagne's entry had been updated.

    She also acknowledged that poll workers made a mistake when they rejected him.

    “It wasn’t handled properly,” Farris said.

    Poll workers should have given Montagne a provisional ballot instead, she said, and local poll workers were notified to ensure they were aware of the proper protocols.

    While Montagne's situation appears to be unique, Farris said poll workers have seen some other voters, particularly IU students, running against a new state law that took effect in July and expanded a previous state residency requirement.

    New law expands requirement for proof of residency

    Angela M. Nussmeyer, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, said the law previously required first-time voters to provide proof of residency if they registered to vote by mail and declined to provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their vote Driver's license to provide social security number.

    The state legislature last session expanded that law to include first-time voters who provide their voter registration information in person — but they, too, are only required to provide proof of residency if they refuse to provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.

    The only thing that has changed, Nussmeyer said, is that the state now requires first-time voters to provide proof of residency, regardless of whether they mailed their voter registration materials or dropped them off in person.

    Most people who register to vote include proof of residency, Nussbaum said, but even if they don't, that doesn't stop them from registering. All that means is that voter registration imposes a proof of residency requirement, which voters can fill out with almost anything that has an address on it, from a school transcript to a voter registration letter.

    Farris said since Monroe County has many first-time voters because of the university, they may have registered to vote for the first time in Indiana this year. That could explain why Monroe County has more problems than other areas.

    “There is no problem with the IU CrimsonCard,” she said.

    However, she said, just in case, first-time voters may want to bring proof of residency in the form of a utility bill, rental agreement or the contract signed with the university for their residence hall.

    If voters encounter problems, they can cast a provisional ballot, she said, and are allowed to provide proof of residency later. However, if they do not do so within 10 days of Election Day, the provisional ballots issued will be invalidated.

    “We want everyone’s voice to count,” Farris said.

    Montagne said Wednesday afternoon that he had already returned to the elections office and cast his vote using his CrimsonCard – this time without any problems.

    “I’m so excited I got to vote,” he said.

    Boris Ladwig can be reached at [email protected].

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    Kathleen William
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