Long lines at polls drawing all ages



BY SCOTT L. MILEY

scott.miley@heraldbulletin.com



INGALLS — Rebecca Hatfield waited an hour to vote Tuesday with her 2-year-old nephew at her Summerlake polling site before turning away and pushing the baby stroller back home.

“I have to get him to an appointment. I couldn’t stay so I’m going to have to wait again,” she said, looking back at the long line of voters. “It’s a big election. It’s an important election, and a lot of people know it.”

As she and nephew, Braxton, turned to head down the street, she vowed, “I will be voting this afternoon.”

By 10 a.m. Tuesday, about 160 voters were waiting two hours to reach one of three voting booths at the precinct in southwestern Madison County.

One potential voter waited the full time before learning he was in the wrong district.

Precinct inspector Bob McCullough urged voters to be sure they were at the right voting site before waiting hours in line. One way is to check the Indiana Secretary of State’s Web site at www.in.gov/sos

Some encountered waits of up to two hours, and the Indiana Secretary of State’s office was advising people to avoid peak voting hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Indiana’s historic election season has seen dozens of presidential campaign visits and record voter registration. By Tuesday morning, almost 669,000 people had voted early, either in person or by mail-in ballot, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Election Day marked the culmination of nearly a month of voting by Indiana residents, a record 4.5 million of whom were registered to vote.

Most of the line at the southwestern Madison County polling site extended into the parking lot at Grandview Church of the Brethren near the I-69 interchange with Ind. 13.

Inside the church entry, a circle of voters waited more than 30 minutes to cast a ballot.

“This is a younger subdivision so I feel that has a lot to do with it. There’s so much excitement about this election,” said voter Stephen Jendraszak, who works in marketing for Ball State University. He has lived in Summerlake since March.

Near him were other younger voters; in the line were 16 baby strollers manned by parents.

Few minded the wait since history beckoned.

Younger voters seemed excited over the opportunity to have an impact on a significant election.

“There probably won’t be another one like this in our lifetime,” said Angela Martin as she walked with her two small children from the Ingalls Town Hall. “I mean it’s pretty historic. You’ve got a woman running and an African-American man so it’s pretty important.”

By mid-morning, about 50 voters were inside; it was a lull from earlier in the day, officials said.

“You got a wide demographic, old and young, men and women,” said poll worker Kevin Streit. “Most people coming are saying how this is an unusual turnout for this area and how they’re excited about the turnout, one way or the other.”

Older voters were focused on change — whether it was from Republicans or Democrats.

In Lapel, GM retirees Barbara and Robert White finished voting and looked back at the line of people waiting by 11 a.m.

“The financial situation and the pocketbook has a lot to do with it,” said Barbara White. “War to a certain extent, but I’d say it was the pocketbook. That’s why people are out.”

The couple have lived in the area 40 years and voted at the Lions Club on the southside of Lapel.

A mile north of them, at Lapel’s Masonic Lodge, inspector Linda McFarland checked IDs with one hand while holding a cell phone in an attempt to verify a voter’s address.

“Things are going really well. Everyone’s in a good mood. Everybody’s happy. Nobody’s gotten mad,” said McFarland.

By 11 a.m., about 500 voters had passed through the poll.

“I worked the primary and that’s just about all we had for the whole day,” McFarland said. “People are really wanting to get out and vote, and that’s wonderful.”