Rainy weather, lack of an exciting race or just plain voter apathy all may be playing a role Tuesday in low voter turnout throughout the region.
By 1:40 p.m. voter turnout had just hit 7% in Lake County, according to Michelle Fajman, director of the board of elections and registration. Precinct Gary 1-08 at Marquette United Methodist Church had the highest voter turnout in the county by mid-day at 22.92%.
Multiple precincts failed to break a 2% turnout by midday. Griffith 12 came in at 1.77% and Hammond 2-05 was at 1.8%, for example.
It was crickets across most of Porter County’s 44 vote centers Tuesday morning. Election officials said it was slower even than a typical primary.
“We have a lot of contested local races, but we don’t have contested presidential races so, unfortunately, people don’t feel the need to come out,” said Sundae Schoon, director of Porter County’s Elections & Registration Office.
Despite the presidential primaries being uncontested, voters may have noticed Nikki Haley’s name on the ballot, Schoon said, because she dropped out of the race after they were printed.
Cedar Lake
At Cedar Lake Town Hall where four precincts, Cedar Lake 6, 7, 8 and 9, voted, 23 people had cast their ballots between 6 a.m. and approximately 8:30 a.m. The number of voters was almost evenly divided between Democrats, 11, and Republicans, 12.
Linda Abbott of Cedar Lake was among those first 23 voters. Abbott said she votes every election and bases her decisions on the people not the party. She declared her party for Tuesday’s election but declined to comment further.
“I always make it a point to vote,” Abbott said. There were down-ballot races for precinct committee people and state delegates she was interested in. She said there were some people she would like to see represent the party – and a few she did not want to see win a seat. She made sure to remind her friends who shared her feelings about one candidate to vote.
“The seven people I voted for I felt good about,” she said, adding that with the way the political climate is charged these days, she was not comfortable sharing who she supported.
Abbott said sometimes people running for offices do not think the public is paying attention, and in some cases they aren’t. She said after some things that have happened in town, she has a much clearer picture of who she wants to help govern.
“Last year in Cedar Lake I learned a lot. You have to pay attention in our town,” Abbott said.
Mark Fostini of Cedar Lake is another regular voter. He too said the down ballot races for committee seats and delegates are important.
Fostini said he was considering both Sen. Mike Braun and Brad Chambers for governor, but ultimately went with Chambers because he liked his messaging.
He is mostly concerned with the race for president and is hopeful Donald Trump walks away with the win so Congress can get some work done. He said he voted for Trump even though he is already the party’s presumptive nominee.
“I just wanted to show my support, no matter what,” Fostini said.
Allen Meyer of Cedar Lake said voting in every election is important to him.
“This is the direction of the county,” Meyer said. “I hope the young people come out and exercise their right to vote.”
Gary
Tucked to the left off a winding road, at the corner of Hamlin Street and West 26th Avenue in Gary, 1,582 registered voters in precinct G5-04 can go vote at the Gary Fire Station 13.
As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, 13 voters cast their ballots in the primary election, said inspector Carol-Ann Seaton. The big reason for the low turnout, Seaton said, is because the polling location is hard for voters to find.
“I still say you can’t find this joint,” Seaton said.
Last month, the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration voted against moving the polling location to Beacon Light Community Church, just two miles away from the fire station, Seaton said.
Seaton said she requested that G5-04 be moved to the church because it is located at the intersection of Burr Street and Ridge Road, both streets that have recently been paved. It would be much easier for voters to get to the church, she said.
But Seaton said Republicans from Hobart, Dyer and Schererville told the board there are no issues with the polling place location and the board agreed.
The fire station has been used as a polling place for the last 10 years, Seaton said, and in those years the precinct has seen a decrease in voter turnout.
In 2023, according to county data, G5-04 had 49 election day voters in the primary and 41 election day voters in the general election. In both 2023 elections, the voter turnout was under 5%, according to the data.
“This is not the kind of voter turnout that’s indicative of the city,” Seaton said, pointing to other Gary Precinct 5 locations, like the Glen Park high-rise apartments and Gary Fire Station 4, that typically have over 25% voter turnout.
Indiana law states polling locations have to remain the same during the primary and general election cycle, barring any extreme circumstances like a fire, Seaton said.
The next election cycle starts in 2026, she said, so there’s time to figure out how to improve the location.
Gary resident Mark Superczynski, who voted at Gary Fire Station 13, said he remembers it being challenging to find the polling place the first time it moved to the fire station.
Once he found the location, Superczynski said he’s been able to get to it over the years. Superczynski, 68, said he’s voted in every election since he was old enough.
“They know me in there,” Superczynski said.
As a disabled veteran, Superczynski said it’s important that he votes to protect his social security.
While some races were uncontested, like U.S. Representative District 1 and many of the state legislature seats, Superczynski said he didn’t mind that because those running for reelection were strong candidates.
“I’m satisfied with the guys that were uncontested. I think they’ve been doing a great job and that’s why they’re uncontested,” Superczynski said.
Cassandra Webster, who voted at the Gary Public Library, said she would’ve liked to see more contested races to give voters more options. To further give voters more options, Webster said she’d like to see the state allow for cross-candidate ballots in the primaries.
“I tend to vote in one direction, but sometimes there are candidates on the other side that are appealing,” Webster said.
Webster said her parents experienced the 1968 Little Rock uprising, and they always taught her the importance of exercising her right to vote.
She’s voted in every election since reaching voting age and votes for candidates who support the people, especially marginalized groups.
“I don’t miss elections,” Webster said. “I think it’s our civic duty. I am well aware of what we went through to get this right.”
Before 11:30 a.m. State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, who is running for reelection in District 3 and facing challenger Heather McCarthy, arrived at the library polling location to greet voters. Hatcher said she visited all the Gary polling locations in the morning and planned to visit Lake Station and New Chicago polling locations in the afternoon.
This election is the first time District 3 stretches further into Hobart, Hatcher said, and when she greeted voters in Gary during the final early voting day on Saturday many told her they were surprised she wasn’t on their ballot anymore.
“That was kind of disheartening, but overall we’re feeling good,” Hatcher said.
Edward Mathews, 61, and Wendell Brown, 52, voted at the library and then walked in the parking lot to encourage voters for Hatcher and Mark Spencer for State Senator District 3.
Mathews said he supports Hatcher because she has experience working as a Democrat in a Republican-controlled legislature.
“She’s really good. Her background tells what she’s about. She’s a woman for Gary and a woman for Indiana,” Matthews said.
Mathews and Brown said they supported Spencer because he is a man of his word.
Voter turnout at the library was slow Tuesday, Mathews said, because of rain and inclement weather tend to impact turnout.
“It looks like it is picking up with the sun coming up,” Brown said at 11 a.m.
Brown said he hopes voter turnout increases before polls close at 6 p.m.
“It’s very important that you go out and vote,” Brown said. “We need a lot to change. To make change, we need to vote.”
Hammond
By Tuesday afternoon, things weren’t hopping at Frank O’Bannon Elementary in Hammond election-wise. As of around 1:15 pm, a total of 119 people had come through the four precincts grouped at the school, Hammond District 4 Captain Peter Thorgren said.
“Turnout is low so far, yeah,” he said. “With not a lot of opposition on the ballot, that’s what happens.”
It won’t be calm in November, though, he and a few of the poll workers agreed.
Poll inspector Kim Norman, who’s also a precinct committeewoman, said she had an idea of why it was so slow.
“A lot of people vote early now, and then there’s absentee, so that’s a big factor with count,” she said. “Would I like it to be busier? Yeah, but it is what it is.”
Hobart
Hobart resident Madalyn Thomas brought her two kids, ages 9 and 4, to the Hobart Community Center to watch her cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary.
She said it’s important for her children to learn their civic duty. Hobart didn’t have in-person school Tuesday. Students had an e-learning day instead.
Thomas referenced the backdrop of state and national politics for making a point to vote.
“It’s just for what it means to women right now. We still have to try, they say every vote matters.”
Inside, precinct inspectors cited a weak turnout. By 1 p.m., they said there were less than 50 voters at each of the three precincts housed at the center.
“It’s been very slow,” said inspector Nancy Pahr, in Precinct 4. She arrived early and set up her voting machines and she said she’ll take everything back to the county when voting ends at 6 pm.
Campaign workers stood outside the center, but had very few voters to greet.
Patricia and David Heard, of Hobart, make it a point to cast ballots in every election.
“There’s always a low turnout,” said David Heard. “You can’t complain if you don’t vote.”
Portage
At the North County Government Complex in Portage, voters were waiting for the doors to open before 6 a.m., said Mark Mikels, who was supporting Republican Porter County Council at-large candidate Michelle Harris.
Portage City Councilwoman Melissa Weidenbach joined him outside the polling place.
“I think it’s good for Republican women to support other Republican women,” she said.
Weidenbach also enjoyed the chance to speak with constituents and hand out business cards so they would be able to contact her with their concerns about the city.
Inside, inspector Ardele Jarnecke, of Portage, saw a steady stream of voters. “It’s OK. It’s not the best. Obviously, I’d like to see more. It’s not busy, but steady.”
Being upbeat helps keep the voters upbeat as well, she said, to enhance the voting experience.
At South Haven Public Library, Ronald and Mary Moore cast ballots, something he said he has been doing for 64 years.
The poll workers were very helpful and made for an easy, quick experience, she said.
At Saylor Elementary School, Tyla Combs, 16, a sophomore at Portage High School, was working as a judge at the vote center. “It was actually pretty fun,” she said. “Everybody was nice.”
St. John
Nick Furtek of St. John, who is a member of the town’s water board, said it is important to be involved in the fast-growing town to have a say in how it develops.
“Growth is getting scary,” Furtek said. If officials are not careful about how they plan for that growth, that growth can tip and become a bad thing
“People want to live here,” Furtek said.
Poll workers inside the precinct said things had been a bit slower than they expected.
Democratic Inspector Michele Rey said everything at the polling place was going smoothly despite the low voter turnout. The only errors were a couple technical glitches that were rectified.
Democratic Election Judge Terry McQuay said she was hopeful people voted early and the turnout numbers would improve by the close of voting.
“November it might be pretty crowded,” she said.
Valparaiso
There was zero wait time at VALE School on Hayes Leonard Road in Center Township. Monie Parker said he votes in “all of ‘em, every time,” as he emerged from the building. “That’s where it starts,” the Valparaiso resident said of the local races.
Inside election volunteers had seen 83 voters by late morning. “We’re doing our civic duty,” said Election Clerk Laura Hastings, of Valparaiso.
Valparaiso voter Adrienne Bansemer, like Parker, said she never misses an election. It is a civic lesson not lost on the next generation. “My son will be out, probably later today. It’s his first time voting,” she said of her 19-year-old.
Bansemer wasn’t concerned about any particular race, but rather all of them. “I just want to make sure that the right people are in the right places that have the same support and belief systems that I have.”
“It’s real non-stressful today,” said Democratic Judge Chuck Scheuer, of Valparaiso, “but we’ll be real busy come November.”
While Schoon, director of Porter County’s Elections & Registration Office, said every vote center opened on time and there were no complaints about lines, at least a few voters pulled in at Union Township Fire Station 2, mistaking the early voting location for a vote center with its political signs still dotting the lawn.
“I didn’t realize that was the early voting and they shut that down,” said David Richardson after he reemerged on the curb at Wheeler High School a little further north at one of the busier sites. “Just making sure I vote for Trump, that’s all,” the Valparaiso resident said of the race he was concerned with.
Inside, Kurt Keiser, of Wheeler, was secure in his voting choices. “Everybody that I’ve voted for at least is up front and I’ve had a personal hand-shake with them,” the Wheeler resident said. “It makes me still feel that I’m free and I’m a patriot,” he said of voting every time.
Out on the sidewalk, across the street and well beyond the physical distance required by law for any campaigners, Julie Giorgi was campaigning for Bob DeRuntz, Sylvia Graham and Eric Wagner, Democrats running for the three county council at-large seats up for reelection. “I used to be on the school board here. That’s why I’m here,” she said.
“I would stay it’s steady,” Giorgi said of the voter traffic, “but I wouldn’t say it’s busy.” She said her husband was serving as an election inspector in Porter and told her it was slow there.
“I think on days like this, people are afraid of the weather,” she said.
Staff writers Alexandra Kukulka and Carrie Napoleon, and freelance reporters Carole Carlson, Shelley Jones, Doug Ross and Michelle Quinn contributed.
