For a generation, Indiana has consistently ranked in the bottom 10 states in terms of voter turnout. Ann and Bill (A’74) Moreau are working to change that. As co-founders of Indiana Citizen — a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing registered voters — they helped launch a new campaign called One More Voice. 

How are you working to reach Indiana’s unregistered voters? What sort of tactics are you using? (And how has COVID-19 affected that?) 

Our One More Voice campaign is the principal strategy for encouraging Indiana residents in the voting-age population to register. The genius behind One More Voice is how it can be tailored to reach people in their various communities, however they define it. Think, “One More Vincennes Voice,” “One More Entrepreneur’s Voice,” “One More Green Voice,” or — my personal favorite — “One More Purdue Voice.” 

It’s interesting that Indiana ranks so highly for folks who engage in political discussion via social media yet does poorly in election turnout. How do you plan to address that? 

Those statistics remind me of what an old politician I know calls “the difference between lip service and hip service,” meaning the difference between talk and action. We’re trying to use technology to close the gap between talk and action by connecting to civically disconnected Hoosiers with a direct pathway to registering and then following up with prompts and content.

Indiana currently ranks in the bottom 10 states for voter turnout. What do you think is a realistic benchmark for increasing voter participation this year?

We need to increase turnout by 20 percent this year over 2016 — adding another 600,000 voters — to have a shot at going from the bottom 10 to the top 10. Looking at the turnout in the primary, gauging the gale-force headwinds that have suppressed our fundraising and the opposition to no-excuse, mail-in absentee voting, I hope we hit 2016 numbers. Having said that, there’s reason to believe that historically underrepresented communities and young people may turn out in large numbers as the events of this year have clearly shown the impact that local elected officials have on our lives.  

Learn more about the Indiana Citizen One More Voice campaign at onemorevoice.com.