Eligible 17-Year-Old Voters mistakenly rejected for Primary Voting

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. --- Some 17-year-olds in northern Indiana who are legally eligible to vote in the state’s primary election were mistakenly told they could not, prompting county officials to review and correct the error ahead of Election Day.

Indiana law allows 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the time of the general election. However, several applicants in St. Joseph County received letters rejecting their voter registration due to age.

County Clerk Amy Rolfes said the rejected applications were the result of human error.

“They should have been able to vote in this primary, but the letter that came from my office said that they were rejected because of age,” Rolfes said.

The issue came to light after affected voters contacted the League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area. Elizabeth Bennion, Vice President of the League of Women Voters of South Bend Area, said the applicants questioned the rejection notices.

“These folks knew there was something that didn’t seem quite right when their applications for registration were rejected based on the fact that they were under 18, so they directly contacted the League of Women Voters,” Bennion said.

The County Clerk’s office conducted an audit and began contacting affected voters.

“Immediately we finished doing the audit, we took the results and then made phone calls to all of the affected registrants,” she said.

Officials emphasized that these voters who received rejection letters are still to be eligible to cast a ballot. Bennion said those individuals should go to their polling place with a valid state-issued photo ID and request a “certificate of error” if needed.

Bennion added that improvements to the voter registration system could help prevent similar mistakes in the future, suggesting automated safeguards to flag eligible voters.

Rolfes encouraged anyone who believes their registration was wrongly denied to contact the clerk’s office using the number provided in their rejection letter. The office will be fully staffed on Election Day, May 5, to address concerns.