Connie Lawson

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson is encouraging Hoosiers to register to vote to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, which were adopted after the Civil War to prevent African-Americans from registering and exercising their right to vote. It also established new legal protections for minority voters at the polls. 

“Today, I encourage all Hoosiers to honor those whose bravery and courage led to this landmark legislation that changed voting in our country by registering to vote or helping someone else register to vote,” said Lawson. “It only takes a few minutes to register and can be done from a smart phone at anytime.”

Hoosiers can register to vote on-line by using the Indiana Voters app, or by visiting IndianaVoters.com, and can submit an application to register in person at their local county clerk’s office or any Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branch.

The Indiana Voters app also allows Hoosiers to confirm their voter registration, look up their polling place, get driving directions to their polling location, find out who’s on their ballot, track their absentee ballot application or provisional ballot information and contact local election officials. It is a full service application designed to make voting easy for Hoosiers by making election information accessible from anywhere.