Ten residents standing six feet apart, marked with pink tape, wearing masks waited at 8 a.m. at the Lake County Government Center to cast their vote for the June 2 primary election.
Early voting began Tuesday, one week before the new June 2 Election Day. The state’s primary election was moved from May 5 to June 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point, seven voting machines are set up in the hallway outside the assessor’s and treasurer’s offices. Evenly spaced out, the machines wrap around a column.
The 11 early voting polling locations around Lake County will have sneeze guards at the check-in table and employees will be provided with masks, face shields, gloves, hand sanitizer, surface cleaner and microfiber cloths, said LeAnn Angerman, Assistant Director of the Lake County Election and Voter Registration Board.
For voters, six-foot distancing will be marked with tape on the ground while they wait in line. Finger cots will be available to voters if they would like to cover their finger when they use the voting machines, Angerman said.
Polling locations may differ on mask requirements, Angerman said.
“We encourage voters that feel more comfortable wearing a mask to bring their own mask,” Angerman said.
For the most part, voters were pleased that social distancing guidelines were being enforced and that the Lake County Government Center requires members of the public to wear masks, which meant voters wore masks.
One man waiting in line to vote at 8 a.m. wasn’t wearing a mask, and a security guard asked him to put a mask on. The man briefly protested, but the security guard said wearing a mask was a requirement inside the building.
“I’ll live in freedom one day,” the man said, putting a mask on.
The first person to cast a ballot Tuesday declined to share his name because he works for the county. But, he said the restrictions posed on residents because of the pandemic are “ridiculous.”
“Everyone has blown this out of proportion,” he said. “I only wear a mask because they force me.”
According to the Indiana State Department of Health, there have been more than 3,300 positive COVID-19 tests and 168 deaths in Lake County, the second highest in the state as of Tuesday.
Steven Sersic, of Hammond, was one of the first people in line for early voting Tuesday, and he said the staff “did a good job” setting up early voting amid the pandemic.
“The fact that people are in line at 8 a.m. during a pandemic is a beautiful sign for our democracy,” Sersic said.
Wearing a mask and gloves, Marie Conerly, of Gary, said she was “very satisfied” with the procedures set up for early voting.
Given that many people in other states, like Missouri, have reportedly ignored social distancing guidelines over the Memorial Day weekend, Conerly said she was pleased that Lake County voters were being respectful of one another.
“I’m very happy that people are following the rules,” Conerly said. “I’m missing my grandchildren … but it’s better to stay safe.”
It is difficult to predict what kind of impact the pandemic will have on in-person voting during the primary election, Angerman said. As of Saturday, the election office received 31,681 applications for mail-in ballots and 17,107 ballots have been received, she said.
“I know that we still have people who still want to vote in person,” Angerman said. “There is an influx of mail-in ballots, but some people feel more comfortable voting in person.”
Lake County residents can vote at 11 early voting locations:
Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Office, 2293 N. Main St., Crown Point
East Chicago County Court HSE, 3711 Main St., East Chicago
Hammond County Courthouse, 232 Russell St., Hammond
Lowell Town Hall, 501 E. Main St., Lowell
Schererville Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St., Schererville
Wicker Park Social Center, Ridge Road and Prairie Avenue, Highland
Gary Genesis Center, 1 Genesis Plaza, Gary
Hobart Police Command Center, 705 E. 4th St., Hobart
Munster Town Hall, 1005 Ridge Road, Munster
St. John Township Assessor’s Office, 9157 Wicker Ave., St. John
Winfield Town Hall, 10645 Randolph St., Winfield
Early voting at each location will be held from Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Angerman said. The final day for early voting will be from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, she said.
Porter County
Masked and gloved poll workers greeted early voters at the Porter County Administration Building Tuesday morning.
Voters held their drivers’ licenses against a Plexiglas shield while poll workers scanned them in from the other side, then put blue plastic tissues over their index fingers to sign the electronic poll book.
After filling out their ballots, voters placed them in yellow envelopes, sealed them with glue sticks and signed them, again using a blue tissue to encase the pen, before putting them in a white ballot box.
Poll workers grabbed disinfectant spray and wiped down the voting equipment, the counters and the glue sticks before the routine started again.
“It’s kind of hard, all these new things,” said Cathy Olson, who’s served as a poll worker for 30-some years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an irrefutable impact on every aspect of this year’s primary, from holding the election a month later than scheduled, on June 2, to shortening the window for in-person early voting from four weeks to one.
The masks, social distancing marks on the floor and other measures were the most visible evidence that this election is unlike any other.
Olson, of Valparaiso, credited poll worker training in helping workers get through the many challenges over the years, whether that was new equipment or new procedures.
“This has been difficult because of all that we have to wear,” she said, referring to the masks and gloves, “but it’s OK. We’ll get through this.”
Pat Williams-Boyd, of Porter Township, was one of the first people to take advantage of early voting and did so because an artificial knee makes standing in line for long periods of time difficult.
She decided to vote early instead of by mail to make the commitment, so she wouldn’t forget or get something mixed up in the mail, and found the measures taken by the poll workers “very thoughtful.”
“It’s very important not only that we vote but that we care about each other,” she said.
Williams-Boyd was one of a steady stream of early voters, mostly wearing masks, to show up when the doors opened at 8:30 a.m.
“I told (poll workers) they’re either going to be super-busy or not,” said Sundae Schoon, the county’s director of elections and registration, adding the requests for mail-in ballots “have been crazy.”
Dave Pozil of Morgan Township was going to get a mail-in ballot but missed the deadline. He usually votes on Election Day but decided to switch gears this year.
“Because of the turmoil in the country, I figured out I might as well go now. It’s more convenient now and not as crowded,” he said, adding the experience was good.
Early voting continues from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. through Friday; from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday; and from 8:30 a.m. to noon Monday at the following locations:
Chesterton Town Hall Meeting Room, 790 Broadway.
Hebron Community Center, 611 N. Main St.
Portage North County Building annex, 3560 Willowcreek Road.
Porter County Administration Building, Suite 102A, 155 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso (enter on Napoleon Street).
Union Township Fire Station No. 2, 267 N. County Road 600 West, Valparaiso
Additionally, the county’s mobile voting unit will be available from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Oak Tree Village, 254 Sandalwood St., Portage; 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Kouts Library, 101 E. Daumer Road; 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Luke Gas Station/Burns Harbor, 298 Melton Road; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at South Haven Library, 403 W. County Road 700 North.
For more information, go to http://porterco.org/1111/Early-Voting.
