"Court hearing scheduled this morning to consider extending voting hours
By RICK YENCER
ryencer@muncie.gannett.com
2 Comments
MUNCIE -- A court hearing has been scheduled this morning to consider extending voting hours, perhaps by as much as 2 1/2 hours, Virtually all Delaware County precincts reportedly experienced problems with voting machines this morning.
But an officials with the Delaware County Clerks office said all machines are currently working and precincts are open.
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The problems were caused by the voting cards that are used to bring up the ballots on the electronic touch screen voting machines.
The machines were used for the first time in the primary and this is the first general election for them to be used in Delaware County.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. this morning with steady rain outside as voters began voting for elected officials ranging from their congressman to Township Trustee. The National Weather Service predicted occasional rain today, with most of it falling before 10 a.m. Today's mid-term election in Delaware County and East Central Indiana comes with Republicans calling the shots in many branches of government, from the White House to the Center Township trustee's office.
And the trustee's race -- between two-term Republican incumbent Richard Shirey and Democratic challenger Marilyn Kay Walker -- could be the baseline race to determine whether the local Democratic organization can take back an office that was long seen as a Democratic stronghold, or whether local Republicans have overcome low popularity ratings for their national leaders.
Other high-profile races being decided today include Indiana Senate District 26 where the margin of victory -- for either Republican Andrew Phipps, Democrat Sue Errington or Independent Pat L. Smith -- could be close, according to past elections, along with the contest for Delaware County Commissioner District 3 between incumbent Republican Larry Crouch and Democrat Larry Bledsoe.
Both of those races were decided for less than one percent of votes cast in the last mid-term election in 2002, when several races produced victory margins of fewer than 150 votes.
The 2002 mid-term election saw 33,526 Delaware County voters cast ballots with 3,131 absentee ballots cast before the polls opened.
At noon Monday, 3,946 absentee ballots had been cast, reflecting a 25-percent increase in absentee voting.
Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger was not ready to predict a 25-percent hike in total turnout, but said there would be more voters based on heavy absentee voting by both parties and others. State law now allows voters to cast absentee ballots without having an excuse.
Allie Craycraft, vice chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Party, said he believed dissatisfaction with the Iraq War, the economy and other issues would trickle down to local races.
"In 1994, we saw that trend in Congress," Craycraft said about a year that saw Republicans virtually sweep national and local races.
Craycraft is retiring after 28 years as Delaware County's senator. He won his seventh and final term in 2002 by 609 votes over Phipps.
But the Craycraft family is represented on today's ballot. The senator's son, Steve, is running for Delaware County clerk, facing Republican Bobby Adams, a friend of Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Kaye Whitehead.
Whitehead does not anticipate the national wave that could put Democrats in control of Congress will impact local Republican officeholders.
"If you look at it, Democrats have not been critical of how Republicans have run county government," Whitehead said. "I think people have pretty much made up their mind."
And Whitehead points to a strong grassroots base of conservative Republicans in Delaware County. GOP officials now preside over nine of 12 Delaware County township governments, and the party has a large voting margin in the Yorktown area.
Basil Davis Sr., a retired auto worker who has run for office as both a Democrat and Republican, agreed with Whitehead's assessment that Republicans have left county government in good shape with a healthy surplus.
Davis and his wife voted absentee on Monday with Davis picking and choosing among Republicans and Democrats.
The races for Senate District 26 and township trustee heated up again as the hours ticked away before the polls opening at 6 a.m. today.
Errington again claimed that Phipps and the Indiana Republican Party continued to go negative with more mailers saying Errington was supported by radical interest groups that supported amnesty for illegal immigrants.
"They must be really desperate to make these wild allegations," Errington said.
Phipps said Democrats had been just as negative, accusing him of supporting school vouchers and wanting to raise taxes.
"I have never said any of that," the Republican said.
Phipps believed the Senate 26 race would be decided by which candidate more closely reflected the values of most people. Errington saw the majority being voters in the mainstream, while Smith believed her support comes from people who don't think government is listening to them.
Crouch on Monday felt his chances of winning re-election were "better than break-even" because of "my experience and availability as a full-time commissioner to continue what we have going."
Bledsoe said the race "could go either way."
"We'll just wait and see what the voters decide," he said. "I just wish everyone well."
That doesn't mean he's wishing for Crouch to win, however, just "to have a good day."
Crouch said of Bledsoe: "He's a decent individual. We have the same backgrounds. He's like me 30 years ago."
Both candidates are Air Force veterans, married, the father of three children and work or worked in factories.
The trustee's race took a turn over the weekend with Shirey and Walker trying to point out who was more accountable to voters.
Walker ran an ad that showed the Center Township Fire Department spent about $184 per capita for fire protection compared to Mount Pleasant Township, which spent $37, and Hamilton Township which spent $28.
Shirey countered with a chart that showed how former longtime Trustee William Chambers, Walker's father, had amassed a $5 million surplus and overtaxed citizens for public assistance.
"That is misleading," Shirey said about Walker's criticism.
Shirey said the fire department offered more than fire protection, including emergency medical and building inspection services.
Walker said she used simple math to figure how many people and how much money was spent on fire protection in other townships to find that Shirey far exceeding other township spending.
"These are the facts," she said.
Look for ground games today to include getting voters to the polls, plenty of telephone banks and lots of poll workers at key precincts in Muncie and Delaware County.
Republican Congressman Mike Pence will stop at Southside High School at 11 a.m. to greet voters with Phipps. Errington will be nearby at Grissom Elementary School , usually a good indicator of countywide voting trends, especially for Democrats. |
