Legislation from Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, saw big changes Wednesday. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Town elections would be held during presidential election years under downsized legislation that left the Senate Thursday in a tight vote, but without discussion.
Municipal elections — from mayors down to town councils — are currently held in the odd-numbered years before presidential elections.
Sen. Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton, originally hoped to shift all municipal elections to the same even-numbered years as presidential elections. But he pared it back to focus on less-populous towns in a significant amendment accepted by the Senate Wednesday.
“The thought behind the bill is to try to address extremely low turnout in these small-town elections and to reduce the significant cost to run them,” Gaskill told his colleagues Thursday.
Now, his Senate Bill 355 would move only town election years. Municipal officials elected in 2022 would serve a fifth year to close the gap created by the shift.
Councils representing towns of more than 10,000 residents could vote to opt out of the change, while city councils could vote to opt in.
An exception for the 200-person town of Vernon would let the historic district continue operating elections under its unique 1851 charter.
The legislation would also let voters stay in the booth for seven minutes, up from the current four-minute maximum.
No other lawmakers rose to speak. But the 29-20 vote split Republicans, with almost a dozen voting against their colleague’s measure.
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