Indiana holding delayed primary with widespread mail balloting
Many counties have drastically slashed their numbers of polling sites that will be open Tuesday, prompting worries about possible voter confusion and long lines for voters.
Many counties have drastically slashed their numbers of polling sites that will be open Tuesday, prompting worries about possible voter confusion and long lines for voters.
The final votes will soon be cast for Indiana’s primary election after it was upended by the coronavirus outbreak amid aggressive campaigns for two congressional seats where incumbents are retiring.
Some Republicans fear that failing to elect more women will hurt the party as female voters increasingly support Democrats. That shift, particularly in suburban areas, helped Democrats pick up enough seats to win control of the House in 2018.
Marion County’s clerk had implored the Indiana Election Commission to extend the deadline, saying thousands of voters who planned to vote by mail in Tuesday’s election might not be able to do so.
Al Hubbard, who served in the White House under the George H.W. Bush and the George W. Bush administrations, is backing a campaign to defeat referendums that seek to raise $285 million for construction projects and $16 million for operating expenses.
Believe in Indiana, a political action committee connected to the Indiana State Building & Construction Trades Council, has spent more than $51,000 to run TV commercials that criticize JR Gaylor, CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana and Kentucky, who is running against Scott Baldwin in the Senate District 20 primary.
Marion County Clerk Myra Eldridge told state officials “it is not too late” to extend the deadline for receipt of mailed ballots. She implored the Indiana Election Commission to act.
Key endorsements in this year’s crowded Hamilton County primary election might bring chronic tensions between the board of commissioners and county council to a boiling point.
State election officials in some key battleground states have recently warned that it may take days to count what they expect will be a surge of ballots sent by mail out of concern for safety amid the pandemic.
Todd Rokita, 50, said he didn’t want to challenge an incumbent from his own party, but an Indiana Supreme Court decision suspending Hill’s license makes it clear he shouldn’t hold the office.
Processing a large number of absentee ballots coupled with the need to follow other coronavirus prevention measures may mean some counties won’t see results election night, Lawson said.
According to a recent poll conducted by Indy Politics and Change Research, 63% of Hoosiers say they approve of how Holcomb has responded to the pandemic, and 54% say the state is headed in the right direction. But Holcomb’s overall approval rate—at 47%—trailed the numbers for his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
For the first time in Indiana, voters are not required to have a specific reason for absentee voting, in part because of social distancing recommended amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Four of the five candidates running in the 5th District—Jennifer Christie, Christina Hale, Andrew Jacobs and Dee Thornton—participated in a virtual forum Tuesday night.
The GOP will conduct the convention through a live TV broadcast on June 18, followed by mail-in voting by delegates.
Former U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita said Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is “very badly wounded” because of the 30-day suspension of his law license.
During two virtual candidate forums hosted by Indiana Town Halls and WFYI Productions on Monday night, 14 of the 15 Republicans seeking the seat were asked to rate the Trump administration’s actions so far related to the global health crisis.
In a first for the state of Indiana, the law license of the elected attorney general has been suspended for attorney misconduct.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had its eyes on the congressional seat even before Republican Rep. Susan Brooks announced in June that she wouldn’t seek reelection.
As a state representative, Christina Hale earned a reputation as a passionate advocate for women and girls and earned endorsements from both the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO.