Kristine Wright, 54, walked out of the Hammond Sportsplex Tuesday after casting her ballot for the primary election ahead of the midterm elections in November.
With a laugh, Wright said she typically votes on Election Day because of the motivation of knowing it is the final day to vote.
“It’s the only thing we have, right now, is to use our voice,” Wright said.
Election Day was off to a slow start Tuesday, which was to be expected as it is a non-presidential election year and early in-person voting has grown in popularity in Lake and Porter counties, election officials said.
Early in-person voting for the 2026 primary election ended at 12 p.m. Monday with 17,263 voters casting their ballots throughout 11 polling locations in Lake County and 5,767 voters casting their ballots throughout seven polling locations and a voting bus in Porter County, according to election officials.
The Hammond Sportsplex had 12 voters as of 10:45 a.m. Wright, 54, said she came to vote Tuesday because she’s a former Republican and wanted to ensure that Democrats win the seats they are seeking.
A self-proclaimed never-Trumper, Wright said she stopped voting Republican in 2016 after President Donald Trump sought his first term in office.
Given the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana case that some have argued guts the Civil Rights Act, Wright said registered voters should cast their ballots.
“The right to vote is precious and it is the only way that you can exercise your choice,” Wright said. “You just can’t take it for granted.”
The Munster Town Hall location had 16 votes as of 11:40 a.m., though many voters who arrived had to be directed to different polling locations. Many voters are used to the Munster Town Hall as an early in-person voting location, election officials said.
Jeannie Scott, 79, said she came to cast her ballot to make her Republican voice heard.
“I don’t want a whole bunch of Democrats in there again,” Scott said.
Scott said she typically votes early, but missed it somehow this year.
“If you don’t like what’s happening, you have to vote,” Scott said. “If we don’t tell them what we think, then nothing will change.”
Taylor Payton, a 25-year-old Gary resident, went to the Roosevelt Park Pavilion at about 11 a.m. Tuesday to vote. As of about 11 a.m., election workers saw 66 voters at that location.
“If you want me to be honest, with me, the time did get away from me,” Payton said. “My mom called me and reminded me, and that’s why I’m out here.”
This year is important for Payton to vote, she said, especially with Gary “on the rise.” The top quality she looked for was candidates who prioritized education, saying she wants more investment in schools because children are the future.
Payton also wants people to vote for all levels of government, adding that it’s important to focus on local races and voice opinions to local officials.
“It’s very important that we are a little critical,” Payton said, “and we’re actually putting time and effort into our voting and making sure we’re getting the wrong people out and the right people in.”
James Carr also voted at Roosevelt Park Pavilion. He didn’t have time to research every race, but he said it’s important to vote in each election.
“You need to be heard,” Carr said. “We need good leadership in this country, and that’s why I do this.”
Over at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Merrillville, campaign workers huddled under a tent to keep warm and dry early in the day, but by late morning, they lined up at the sanctioned area outside the doors stumping for their chosen candidates.
Shana Robertson, of Hobart, was at the church greeting voters on behalf of State Sen. Dan Dernulc. It was her first time stumping for a candidate, she said.
“I’m not in his district, but I believe in the work he’s doing, so this is how I can show support,” she said. “And I’m a pretty cheerful person, so it’s fun, too.”
Some voters were happy to come out on Election Day. Bob Dixon, of Merrillville, came out Tuesday because it’s “just how he’s used to doing it” as opposed to early voting.
“I vote regularly,” Dixon said. “This primary, I didn’t see a lot of recycled politicians, so that’s what brought me out. There’s so much to hope for, so I’m hoping for the best (with the new candidates) because we need help.”
Larry Hetrick, of Merrillville, said his service in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Unit compels him to vote each time. But he, too, is a traditionalist.
“I prefer voting the day of,” he said. “I don’t care for this early stuff because there’s too much opportunity for fraud and abuse.”
Voting Inspector Bernice Williams said turnout started kind of slow but had picked up considerably by lunchtime. More than 100 voters had shown up by then, she said.
Robert Lambert, a retired farmer, used a walker as he exited the Winfield Municipal Center polling place on Election Day after voting.
Although offered assistance, he declined and deftly lifted the walker and placed it into the trunk of his parked car.
“I always vote and generally on Election Day. I have never missed voting,” Lambert said Tuesday.
Lambert, who turns 90 later this year, said voting on Election Day in his younger years meant seeing neighbors and talking about farm business.
“It’s not like it used to be,” Lambert said.
He admitted there are lots of issues to talk about these days, but didn’t get specific.
“And if they don’t get the country back on track, we’ll be going to hell in a handbasket,” he said.
Gina Brown, 53, of Winfield, said she usually votes on Election Day, an action she describes as a duty. Voting was a family affair for Brown as she came with her husband, Paul, 45, and daughter, Jordan, 21.
Important issues for Brown include the escalating cost of energy and other financial increases affecting the pocketbooks of families.
That’s why it is so important to vote, something she has passed along to her children.
“Don’t just talk about it, be about it,” Brown said.
Construction on Main Street, right outside the American Legion No. 20, made access tricky for voters who wanted to cast a ballot there.
That didn’t deter Alice Rajchel, 82, who has never missed voting on Election Day since she turned 21.
Rajchel said her late mother, Esther Lee, was her inspiration since she was among the first women to obtain the right to vote in the United States and then utilize that privilege.
Rajchel said in previous years she worked at the polls similarly to her late mother.
“This (voting) was something you were expected to do,” Rajchel said.
A power outage at noon briefly affected a polling location at St. Michael the Archangel National Catholic Church in Cedar Lake at 6629 W. 133rd Ave. The outage affected residents on the east side of the town and was mostly resolved by the afternoon.
The poll staff at the church jumped into action with battery packs to keep the machines running until the power was restored.
Chrissy Hartman, of Cedar Lake, said she was not swayed by the power outage and waits every year to cast her ballot in person.
“I like coming out and seeing neighbors and families I know,” Hartman said. “You get to feel a part of it. Plus, you get the ‘I voted’ sticker when you come in person.”
Tom McDonnell, of Cedar Lake, voted during the outage, which affected his house as well. McDonnell, a longtime resident, said he thinks development is the main thing on residents’ minds.
“It’s all the expansion,” McDonnell said. “There’s no infrastructure out here to support all of that. They can’t keep up with the electricity and infrastructure with the population we have. And traffic is out of hand, too. All of these developers are trying to get these properties in the town.”
Jack Harden, of Cedar Lake, said he is concerned with the town’s water infrastructure.
“They built all these new subdivisions and stuff,” Harden said. “They’ve got a community well, but I’m on my own private well. If it’s a 100-foot well, and they’re on a 200-foot deep well, I’m worried about that.”
Harden said he has mixed feelings about the town’s overall direction.
“I mean, the last administration that was here seemed pro-development, and then the new leaders came in and they stopped everything,” Harden said. “So, you know, I mean, I’m upset not to see a lake being finished with the dredging. That was a sad state. It had everything in place.”
Porter County voters turn out to vote
For Jennifer Prohl, working the election is a family affair. Prohl, of Portage, served as an election inspector at the Woodland Park vote center.
Joining her were her parents, Lisa and Bill Snyder, her 20-year-old son, Harley, and her husband, Kevin.
The Snyders have been working elections for decades, Prohl said. “Then they pulled me in and needed an inspector.”
“My 20-year-old started doing elections when he was 16,” she said.
And when a last-minute substitution was needed, Kevin filled in with others in the family.
The machines used at Porter County’s vote centers are new this year, having replaced ones damaged in last year’s flood at the county elections and voter registration office.
“These are new machines, so everybody’s kind of learning them,” Prohl said. They’re so new they don’t have privacy shields like the old ones did, but those will come later.
Brian Parker, of Portage, has been voting “since I was 18, and I’ll be 68 in two weeks.” He prefers voting on Election Day rather than early, even voting at the American embassy rather than by mail when he was stationed in Wales.
Outside the Woodland Park vote center, retiree Dean Hultman, of Chesterton, was campaigning for state Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., a Democrat, but not aggressively. Pol is uncontested in the primary.
“There’s no kind of conversation going on. It’s minimal good mornings,” he said. “I’m trying to be a cheering squad for any voter.”
Jonathan McGinty, of Valparaiso, works at a pharmaceutical company in Portage and took breaks to show up with his T-shirt promoting Republican Andrew Bennett, who is running for prosecutor.
“We go to church together,” McGinty said. “It’s who I would call if I want advice.”
In South Porter County, voting started slowly, but had picked up to a steady stream by lunchtime.
“Every hour on the hour I’m sending in what the wait period has been, and it’s been zero minutes,” said Election Judge Chris Kurman, who was working at the vote center at Kouts High School just after 9 a.m. “In my experience, mid-term primaries are light.”
The voters trickling in seemed to be committed to voting on Election Day versus early or by mail.
“I’m hoping to stem some of the extreme nonsense that’s going on. Definitely rooting for every state senator that’s being attacked by the Trump Administration,” Jon Pratt, of Kouts, said of efforts to oust Republican state senators who voted down President Donald Trump’s push to have Indiana lawmakers redraw Congressional districts to give Republicans an advantage in Congress.
Ten minutes to the west at the Hebron High School Vote Center, Hebron resident Marie Pavnica said she had to research the candidates before coming to vote because she’s new to the area. She was concerned with voter ID laws.
“Not just Indiana, but I wish they would pass the SAVE Act, because everybody should have an ID and be a citizen,” she said. “I think it’s only fair.”
Sandy Strader, also of Hebron, also mentioned citizenship as a top issue. “I’m still concerned about illegal aliens and the hatred going on,” she said, but added, “I’m happy with what’s going on with the president and what he’s doing.”
Post-Tribune reporters Alexandra Kukulka and Maya Wilkins, and freelance reporters Shelley Jones, Deborah Laverty, Anna Ortiz, Michelle L. Quinn and Doug Ross contributed to this report.
