Staff Reports
Reporters for the Daily Reporter visited the county’s four polling places throughout Election Day. Here are their dispatches:
Tolerating inconvenience
At the Hancock County Courthouse Annex in Greenfield, a line of voters grew longer from the morning into the afternoon. Many voters donned masks and remained at least 6 feet apart from one another, in accordance with social distancing recommendations, although not all followed the guidance. Many local candidates and their supporters also stopped by to talk with voters in line.
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The parents of one candidate, county council incumbent Kent Fisk, were at the Hancock County Courthouse Annex for much of the day. Dennis and Judy Fisk said they were glad to see most of the voters in line practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
“I think it’s a benefit to all of us to do that, but some people choose not to,” Dennis Fisk said.
Voter Marsha Lloyd said she opted to vote in person on Election Day because she appreciates the opportunity to talk to candidates and their representatives while in line.
“I always think about it all the way until I get up there to vote, because there’s no telling what you’ll see or who you’ll meet, and to me that always makes a difference,” she said.
Voters said they were interested in a variety of local and statewide elections; many listed the presidential race as a motivator to come out to vote, although both the Democratic and Republican parties have presumptive nominees. Others saw voting in every election as simply civic duty.
“This is how you make change. Put the right people in place, work with your legislators and work with your government to help effect change,” voter Steve Gilbreath said.
Catherine Smith said voting was worth the inconvenience of waiting outside with a mask on.
“I think people’s right to vote is very important and they should exercise it,” Smith said.
Not sold on absentee voting
As part of a number of rule changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Indiana election officials allowed counties to operate a smaller number of polling places than in typical years. With only one-third of the usual number of polling places available, some voters had to travel farther to vote
“I was really surprised that I couldn’t vote where I live. I had to come all the way out here. I just feel like that’s a deterrent so that a lot of voters can’t come out, and I really didn’t appreciate it. But it didn’t stop me from doing what I needed to do,” voter Diane Leflore said.
Some voters said they had chosen to cast a ballot in person, rather than using the option of an absentee ballot, because they did not trust mail-in ballots to be counted reliably. President Donald Trump, among others, has suggested that mail-in ballots may be tampered with, although there is no evidence that the use of such ballots leads to higher rates of fraud.
“I don’t trust mail-in ballots. Too many things can be done to them,” voter Ellen Foster said.
Another voter in line, Philma Cole, said she didn’t believe in voting by mail.
“We have a voting day for a reason, and that’s the day to vote,” she said.
Greeting voters, finally
Dianna Lewis hasn’t missed a single election in more than half a century.
“I’ve always voted. I don’t think I’ve ever missed a primary or major election in my whole life,” said Lewis, 73, who lives near Charlottesville and voted at the Hancock County Public Library.
Tuesday’s primary election was no different.
Lewis showed up just before 9 a.m. to cast her vote, where the line grew longer as the morning wore on.
Only 10 or so voters were waiting to vote around 8 a.m. Ninety minutes later, the line had grown to 25 or 30 people, snaking out the front door and down the sidewalk to McKenzie Road.
By 11:30 a.m., the line stretched down to the intersection of McKenzie and Franklin roads.
More than a dozen candidates and campaign helpers were waiting, clustered near the front door, dressed in various colors representing their candidate of choice. Some wore navy shirts, others red, some bright green, each emblazoned with the name of local candidates seeking office.
For candidates who have been shut out from going door-to-door this year due to COVID concerns, it was the first time in months many of them were able to interact with voters in person.
“I went out a little bit door-to-door back in February, but once March came you couldn’t really do that anymore,” said D.J. Davis, who is running for judge.
Social media has been most candidates’ saving grace, he said, providing a way for candidates like him to share their message and interact with voters without violating social distancing guidelines.
Kent Fisk, a candidate for Hancock County Council, agreed.
“Going door-to-door is the most effective way to connect with people,” said Fisk. “If your name isn’t well known or hasn’t been on a lot of ballots, (going) door-to door is your biggest weapon, and people haven’t been able to do that. I feel sorry for a lot of new candidates who can’t get their name out there.”
Talking with voters face-to-face at their homes is the best way to make an impression, said Fisk, who had to rely mostly on signage and social media to reach voters in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s election. His incumbency didn’t hurt.
Between 8 and 9 a.m., none of the candidates or campaign helpers gathered outside the library were wearing face masks.
Davis and Fisk both said the face coverings made it harder to connect with voters, and that they were keeping a respectful distance from people.
Davis said talking through a mask made it harder to be recognized and heard by voters heading into the polls. Fisk said facial recognition was important on Election Day, and that only one voter in the past four or five days of campaigning at the library had asked why candidates weren’t wearing masks.
“I don’t wear sunglasses and I don’t wear a beard, because I want people to see my face,” said Fisk. “My face is on my sign, and I want people to recognize me. Because there haven’t been venues to go to for debates…seeing my face and recognizing me from my sign may be the difference in whether they vote for me or not.”
While all poll workers inside were donning face shields or masks, only a third to half of all voters were sporting face coverings.
While a couple people who were asked voiced concern that candidates didn’t have their faces covered, Lewis had no problem with it, as she stood in line with her mask tucked away in her pocket.
“I have one with me, but unless it’s mandatory I don’t think it’s necessary, even if I am an older person,” she said.
Erin Hilt, on the other hand, was disappointed to not see any candidates or campaign workers wearing masks.
“I think it speaks volumes on what people think of the virus, and the dangerousness of the virus, especially being people in politics who are supposed to be influencing the community,” she said.
The Greenfield woman, an aide at Purpose Home Health, was dressed in scrubs and a cloth face mask when she stopped by the polls to vote on her way to work.
Gary Pence, of Greenfield, was also wearing a mask when he stopped by the library to vote.
He was also surprised not to see candidates in masks, but was glad to see voters were taking it upon themselves to stand roughly 6 feet apart in line.
“I’ve been to a few places where I’ve been surprised” more people weren’t wearing masks, he said.
“I just think it’s something we should do, to protect yourself and others. You don’t know if you’re asymptomatic or not, so why not wear a mask? It’s not that big of a deal,” he said.
Regardless, he was happy to see people getting out to vote Tuesday morning, an American right he thinks is all the more important given the racial tensions and health concerns gripping the United States right now.
“It’s important to get out and vote, hopefully for someone who can help support us and keep us safe,” said Pence, who is in strong favor of doing mail-in voting in November to implement social distancing.
Fisk predicted voter turnout would be “way down” on Tuesday, “because of the timing, plus we’ve only got four (Hancock County) voting centers open,” he said.
“If you live out away from some of these areas, I don’t think they’re going to make the extra effort” to come out and vote, he said.
“I think people will come out more in the fall, because that decides the presidential election,” he said.
Candidate expresses her gratitude
Jessica Lacy, a candidate for Superior Court 1 judge, was sitting under a sun-soaked sky at the Sugar Creek Branch of the Hancock County Public Library shortly before noon Tuesday.
It had already been a long day for the candidate, who planned to visit all four voting sites around the county before the day was out to make sure her volunteers and supporters had everything they needed.
“Thanks for coming out,” Lacy said to a voter who walked by after filling out a ballot.
For candidates like Lacy, Tuesday marked the end of a long campaign, challenged by the pandemic that forced her to rely on mailers and social media to reach voters in what many labeled a jam-packed field with four quality candidates for the judge’s seat.
“It’s been a tough race,” Lacy said. “We all have qualities that make us shine.”
Sitting in a lawn chair, a few feet away from Lacy, Silvia Miller was wearing a Cody Coombs shirt and holding a Cody Coombs for judge sign. Coombs, the county court commissioner, hadn’t arrived at the library yet, because he was visiting another polling site. However, she was one of several surrogates who showed up early on behalf of candidates to encourage voters.
“There’s been a pretty steady line of voters,” Miller said. “So far, it’s been a good day.”
Voters stood in a long line, adhering to social distancing recommendations, for most of the day waiting to cast their ballots.
Doing their duty, praying for unity
At Buck Creek Township Fire Station 71 in Mt. Comfort, the line to vote wrapped around most of the building by about 1 p.m. Tuesday. Voters kept their distance in line, and many wore masks. More than 400 people had been through the polling place so far.
Marybeth Sears, an election assistant, said turnout at the fire station remained consistent throughout early voting.
“It’s a presidential primary, so it’s going to be busier,” Sears said, adding the absence of voting locations usually in Fortville and McCordsville also drove attendance up at the fire station.
Measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, like wearing masks and spacing voters apart in line were going smoothly, she continued.
“We’ve kept everything sanitized,” Sears added. “It’s been awesome.”
Chasity Brantley and Sylvia Toney, both of McCordsville, were among the voters wearing masks waiting in line outside the fire station Tuesday. Brantley said she wished other voting locations were available for the election, like those that have been in Fortville and McCordsville in the past.
“The lines would go quicker,” she said.
But the wait could not keep them from casting their ballots.
“I personally believe change cannot come about unless we change the leaders that are in office,” Brantley said.
Toney agreed.
“It’s essential because we have to make a change,” she said, particularly in the White House and Congress.
Travis Rivers, McCordsville, waited behind Brantley and Toney. He said he votes in every election.
“I feel like it’s our constitutional right to have that ability to vote,” he said.
He felt the measures taken because of COVID-19 were going as smoothly as they could.
“It seems like the virus has gone away,” he said. “No one’s even talking about it anymore.”
With several friends who work in law enforcement, Rivers said he’s a big supporter of public safety and would be voting with that in the front of his mind Tuesday.
Ralph and Barbara Spears came out to the fire station to vote as well.
“I’ve voted all my life,” Barbara Spears said.
Ralph Spears said he has too. Even when he was overseas, he voted with an absentee ballot.
What issues were on their minds as they headed to the polls?
“Finding a vaccine for this thing,” Ralph Spears said with a laugh through his mask, referring to COVID-19.
For Barbara Spears, it was unity.
“The country’s got to get together again, definitely,” she said.
