With a tight presidential race, competitive contests for Porter County Council At-Large seats, and a closely watched Lake Station Community Schools referendum on the ballot, voter turnout was steady on Tuesday across Northwest Indiana even with rain in the forecast.

Referendum draws voters in Lake Station

Voters jammed into Lake Station’s largest voting site early Tuesday with many just as concerned on the outcome of a $1.38 million school referendum as for the presidential contest.

McKenna Kronthal, an election judge, surveyed the line inside the former Polk Elementary that’s now the Lake Station Boys & Girls Club, and said people were waiting when she arrived at 5:30 a.m. The site houses three precincts.

Lake Station Superintendent Thomas Cripliver and school board member David Wright, who wore sweatshirts supporting the referendum, stood outside and encouraged voters to support the measure.

“Obviously, I’m happy for it to be a ‘yes’ vote because we need the support,” said Cripliver. “It’s just whether we can get supporters out.”

Walter Wojciechowski, a 25-year resident, said he supported the referendum. “They need more money for the kids,” he said. “I’m a strong supporter of education.”

Garry Trawick Jr., chairman of the Lake Station Republican Party, opposed the referendum saying the school district doesn’t provide accountability for its spending.

“Look at the State Board of Accounts audit and find what’s happening with grants,” he said.

Cripliver said he’s invited Trawick to school board and Republican precinct meetings and doesn’t get a response.

Kelly Lemley, wife of former mayor and councilman Dewey Lemley, said she supported the referendum.

“We have to get the kids back in school,” she said. “We’re hoping and praying for a positive outcome.”

Parent Kenyatta Williams said her third grader woke her up to vote Tuesday morning.She said her son has been struggling during the two days a week of remote learning because the district can’t afford five-day-a-week busing. School officials said the full week of busing would return if the referendum passes.

Rain dampening turnout in Porter County

Wait times for voting on Election Day in Porter County weren’t any worse than early voting wait times despite the hype. More popular vote centers like Valparaiso High School saw wait times of 45 to 60 minutes, while farther flung centers like the one at Porter County Expo Center saw about a 20-minute average.

“We had, I think it was 18 (people lined up), when we made the declaration,” said Robert Hayward, polling inspector at the Expo Center. By 11:10 a.m. 315 voters had passed through. While this was certainly more than the 150 voters the center saw the entire day for the primary, Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey, whose office oversees elections, thought the crowds would be bigger.

“I think the rain is having a huge factor,” Bailey said just after 1 p.m. “We’re sitting at 48% right now and I thought we’d be much higher.”

Still, Nicholas Havens, of Kouts, thought the big, circular line at the Expo Center was pretty long. “I’ve never voted where it’s been this long,” he said after casting his ballot. “Normally I’m in and out.”

Havens, a steelworker, said issues concerning him this election cycle include “how we’re spending money,” and “job security.”

Across town at Ben Franklin Middle School Valparaiso voter Donald Warner said he’s concerned about a few issues. “The border, for one thing. That’s the biggest,” he said. “And also voting integrity. I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them. They’re going to be slipping votes in.”

When asked who he was referring to, Warner replied, “The Democrats.” He was pleased with the vote center set up. “It’s open, which is good,” he said. “There’s nobody looking over your shoulder which is even better.”

Election Inspector Robert Flynn, a Navy veteran working an election for the first time, praised the support the Elections & Registration Office was providing. “I don’t have to wait when I have to call the Election Office,” he said. “They’ve been really responsive. We ran out of some forms and they got them right out here.”

Waiting in line behind Warner, fellow Valparaiso voter Ashton Whitley was primarily concerned with “my reproductive rights. And climate change and stuff like that.” She was in a fatalistic mood. “I am of the opinion that I don’t think my vote really matters, but I’m doing it anyway,” she said.

‘A lot of my rights are at risk’

For Christa Phillips, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. That’s why the 19-year-old Gary resident voted for the first time Tuesday.”Being a Black and non-straight woman, I’m kind of a triple whammy in this country,” Phillips said. “A lot of my rights are at risk, so it’s important to me that I vote.”

Phillips has wanted to vote since the 2016 election, and her desire was heightened in June 2022 when the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe vs. Wade.

She voted with her 18-year-old sister, Alanna Phillips, who also voted for the first time. Alanna Phillips voted for the candidate she believes will benefit her most.

“All sides have their own problems,” she said, “but I believe I’m choosing the side with the least amount of problems.”

The sisters voted at Ambridge Mann Community Center in Gary. Both said the process was easier than they anticipated, and it was quick.

Michelynn LaRue also voted at Ambridge Mann Community Center in Gary. She votes in every election and said her experience was smooth and fast.

No one specific issue brought LaRue to the polls, but she encouraged all voters to do their research beforehand.

“You can’t just be pushing buttons,” LaRue said. “You have actually got to do research and see what people are doing, what they’ve done and what are their plans for the future. Life is changing.”

Darryl Wimbush votes whenever he can because he wants to make sure his voice is heard. He also believes it’s important for young voters to make their voices heard.

“I’m glad to see more young people this year,” Wimbush said. “I think it’s really cool.”

Rhonda Neal, inspector at one of Miracle Temple Church’s precincts, said at noon that she’d seen the largest voter turnout at one of her polling locations. Neal has been working elections for 20 years. The location saw more than 200 voters by noon, Neal said.

“They know how important this election is,” she added. “This is a big, important election.”

Sharon Booker votes in each election, she said, and there wasn’t an issue that she felt strongest about. The Gary resident said she was encouraged by the amount of other voters at Miracle Temple Church.

Wanda and Joe Barnes also voted at Miracle Temple Church this year. The couple votes in every election, and they encourage their children to do the same.

Wanda Barnes believes this year’s election is especially important to vote in.

“This is a really big year,” she said. “I want to do what’s right for the people.”

‘You can’t play us like TV’

Valerie Baker, 41, voted at the Hammond Sportsplex shortly after Noon on Tuesday. Baker said her plan was to go vote early in-person, but when she heard how long the lines were she decided to vote on Election Day.

Baker said she waited 10 minutes to cast her ballot. Baker, a Black woman, teared up as she shared her pride in voting for Harris, a Black and South Asian woman.

Voting for Harris, Baker said, was as exciting as voting for former President Barack Obama.

“I couldn’t be more excited than when I voted for Barack,” Baker said. “Every president has been a man, why can’t a woman be president? If she gets in there she will kick butt.”

Baker said she couldn’t vote for Trump because he overturned Roe v. Wade, which took away access to abortion and has resulted in woman dying.

Trump has displayed unhinged behavior, Baker said, by demeaning people.

“We’re not TV. The U.S. is not TV. You can’t play us like TV,” Baker said.

Baker said she’s hopeful that Harris will win and looks forward to the election coming to an end.

“You can hope and pray, but you never know,” Baker said. “I’m hoping for the best outcome.”

As of 12:15 pm, the Hammond Sportsplex had 160 people cast their ballots. Earlier in the day, around 10:50 am, Elliott Elementary School in Munster had 339 voters.

Pamela Huenink, 41, of Munster, said she walked right into the polling place and cast her ballot. Her husband voted around 7 a.m. before work, she said, and he waited 12 minutes.

Huenink said for her vote for president came down to selecting “the lesser evil.”

“I am not certain either candidate is the right one,” Huenink said.

Huenink said she looks forward to the election being over so that the political signs come down and the advertisements can stop playing on repeat.

“Knowing the dissension it causes … I want that to go away so people can be kind to each other.”

Melina Frazier and her husband Kevin Frazier voted in Munster because the early in-person lines were long.

Kevin Frazier said he voted because he wants to secure abortion rights and improve education.

He said he voted for Harris because she’s more competent than Trump, but he said he wished there was more time to learn about her policies.

“That’s why I was a little hesitant, but I was a citizen during a Trump presidency and I don’t want that,” Kevin Frazier said.

Melina Frazier said she voted for Harris too, and she hopes she becomes the first woman president.

“I am nervous about what will come of this election,” Kevin Frazier said. “I hope the country comes out with a new leader that takes us into the future.”

‘Standing out here means something’

Anita Cox liked canvassing at the Wicker Memorial Park polling place on Saturday much better than at Lincoln Center in Highland.

At Wicker Park, there were lines of at least 200 people for most of the time the School City of Hammond teacher was there, she said, so it made it much easier to talk to multiple people all at once, she said Tuesday. With the solid line turning into a steady trickle at Lincoln Center pretty early on, however, it was harder to get voters to stop.

Nevertheless, being out there to talk to voters is extremely important to her, and she was glad to do it.

“I became active with voting after Trump got elected, and I know how important it is to be out here,” Cox said. “I had a teacher sister win an election by just three votes, so I can tell you standing out here means something.”

Charlie Alyea, 18, was out stumping for his father, Rick Alyea, who ran his first race for School Town of Highland Board of Trustees this year. He said he and his siblings did a lot of picking up and dropping off signs for his dad as well as helping him communicate his message.

He said he hadn’t seen anything too terrible during the campaign, but the tension among people is a lot, even for someone as non-political as he is.

“You can see that people are focused too much on what divides them than what brings us together,” Alyea said.

Deb Morgan Nelson, of Highland, said she’s been doing her part this election by phone banking for Kamala Harris. Had the Democratic Presidential candidate still been President Joe Biden, she “would’ve stayed at home.”

“I’m out here voting today because I have grandchildren, and we cannot have a rapist as our president,” Morgan Nelson said, referring to Trump’s being found liable for sexual abuse against writer E. Jean Carroll in May 2023.

New voters learn the ropes

At Jones Elementary School in Portage, there were 36 people waiting to vote when the polls opened at 6 a.m., Inspector Susan Chandler said. This is her third election as a poll worker, At the other elections, there were zero to maybe one person in line that early.

Chandler was busy helping people change addresses and dealing with other issues. “They have a lot of questions and they want to hang out,” she said. “They’re just excited.”

By Tuesday afternoon, the line stretched out into the rain and about 600 people had voted at Jones.

Chandler said she didn’t plan to stay up late to watch the election results. She had to be up at 2:45 a.m. to wash her hair, pack her lunch, make sure her phone was charged and get out the door.

At Best Western Plus on U.S. 20 in Portage, Inspector Jessica Fox said there were few problems. One of the machines was cutting the paper through the bar code, so those votes were voided and the voters were allowed to do it again until the machine was fixed.

There were 22 voters in line when the vote center opened. There was already a line by 5:30 a.m.

The flow of voters was steady. “There’s only been two times that we had nobody in, and only 90 seconds for that,” Fox said.

In May, the vote center had 225 to 250 voters, Fox said. “We are way over that already,” she said early Tuesday afternoon, several hours before closing time.

One hotel guest from New York State asked the poll workers to pull up a ballot for New York. He was out of luck. Some would-be voters were registered in other counties but now live in Porter County. They had to go to the other county to vote.

One woman registered in Lake County now lives in Porter County and cast a provisional ballot in Portage. “If she goes to the voter registration office within 10 days, she’ll find out the vote doesn’t count,” Fox said.

At the Ogden Dunes fire station, inspector Martin Nicholas said there were 13 or 14 people in line when the vote center opened. “By the time we opened, everything was up and running,” he said.

One Jasper County resident who works at one of the mills in Porter County thought he could vote in Ogden Dunes but was sent to his own county to vote.

“It’s been very eventful, but we like it that way,” Nicholas said.

At the Burns Harbor fire station, inspector Tina Rosko said 19 were already in line when the vote center opened. “We’ve had as many as 30 in line,” she said.

One would-be voter said they registered through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles but didn’t get a voter registration card in the mail. That person couldn’t vote.

“A lot of them thought if they register now they could vote now,” Rosko said, but Indiana’s deadline to register to vote for the general election passed in early October.

Poll worker Jerry Marshall said he noticed at least a dozen first-time voters.

Eddie Carder, of Valparaiso, used his lunch break to vote, then hurried back to work. He’s used to eating lunch in his vehicle, he said.

Bill Witt, of Burns Harbor, also voted at the fire station. “We’re a family of six, so inflation — groceries, food prices, utilities and all that stuff — are important to us, so that’s why we’re here,” he said.

“I’m going to stay up as late as I can” to see who wins the presidential race,” Witt said. “I’m committed.”

At Sunset Hill Farm County Park, inspector Edward Kolar III said someone was already waiting to vote when poll workers arrived at 5 a.m. When doors opened an hour later, 31 were already in line.

Mollie Zack, of Chesterton, voted there. “It’s our civic duty to come out here and vote. No matter who you’re voting for, come out here and cast your ballot,” she said.

Staff writers Alexandra Kukulka and Maya Wilkins, and freelance reporters Carole Carlson, Shelley Jones, Michelle L. Quinn and Doug Ross contributed.