The Online Reflector

As an intern this past summer, University of Indianapolis senior Tim Coxey helped put in place some unique services for Indiana voters.

Coxey played a role in kick starting online voting registration for Indiana residents; he also had an integral part in starting an online database called “Who are your elected officials?”, a service that is currently unique to Indiana.

While interning with the Secretary of State, senior Tim Coxey helped put in place unique services for voters. Photo Contributed by Office of the Secretary of State.

“There are only about eight states with online voter registration right now,” Coxey said. “And Indiana is now the only state to offer an online service anything like the ‘Who are your elected officials?’ one we created this summer.”

Coxey spent this past summer working for Secretary of State Todd Rokita, who has since moved on to serve as the District Four Indiana Representative in the United States House of Representatives.

Coxey’s job in the elections division of the Secretary of State’s office gave him the opportunity to gain real-world experience working on projects that would in turn benefit his home state of Indiana.

“It was a really rewarding feeling to know that I was serving Indiana citizens through all the projects I worked on,” he said.

The “Who are your elected officials?” service will allow any Indiana resident to view a list of all his or her elected officials. The database includes every office from President of the United States to school board members.

“The listings are split up by federal, state, county, township and school,” Coxey said. “Anyone who wants to see who their elected officials are just has to type in their current Indiana address, and they can view them.”

Coxey spent countless hours making phone calls to all of Indiana’s counties, confirming the names and titles of elected officials. With 92 counties and more than 1,200 elected officials to confirm, Coxey spent the better part of this July on the phone with office holders from every corner of the state.

Also as part of his internship, Coxey helped set up a social networking Web site for county clerks in Indiana.

Additionally, he drafted press releases regarding online voting and the “Who are your elected officials” services that found there way into publications such as the Associated Press wire service and the Indianapolis Star.

In a June 17 press release, Rokita praised Coxey for his ambition and hard work.

“Tim has an extraordinary amount of dedication and drive, and I feel that will help him to guide our state and country in years to come,” Rokita said. “He embodies the type of distinguished students we have here in Indiana, and I’m thrilled to have him be a part of our Help America Vote Act team, as he is a valuable addition.”

Coxey, who hopes to work in the public relations realm of politics, explained that working as part of the democratic process was rewarding on many levels. He felt that this experience was beneficial to his future career.