Published: October 04, 2008 10:59 pm         

ELECTION '08: Voter turnout looks to be large

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana has about 540,000 new or updated voter registrations since January, and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita predicts a 65-percent turnout of registered voters on Nov. 4. That would be the largest voter turnout since 1992.

And Vigo County voters can start casting absentee ballots Monday for the Nov. 4 general election.

Satellite voting sites are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays at The Meadows, Southland Shopping Center and Plaza North, and Mondays through Fridays at Indiana State University’s Cunningham Memorial Library.

All sites will be closed Oct. 13 in observance of Columbus Day. ISU’s site also will close Oct. 10 during the university’s fall break.

A photo identification issued by the state or federal government is required to vote. That includes a state driver’s license, U.S. passport or military identification card. It must have an expiration date, falling after Nov. 4, 2008.

An absentee ballot can be cast by a registered voter until noon Nov. 3.

Polls statewide on election day, Nov. 4, are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Vigo County had 78,413 registered voters for the 2004 general presidential election. As of Thursday, the county had 77,875 registered voters, said Debbie Kirk, director of the Vigo County Voter Registration office. That number will change by Monday, the last day to register to vote. People can register from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Vigo County Courthouse.

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 3, Vigo County had 4,553 new registered voters, plus 10,349 voters transferred their registration either to the county or within the county to a new address, Kirk said. In addition, 2,796 voter registrations were canceled, as the voter either moved out of the county or died.

Also, there were 692 duplicate registrations, Kirk said, meaning those people already were registered to vote.

Kirk said the voter registration numbers are about the same as four years ago because the county since July 2005 has been able to “clean up the records.”

“Our voter registration files are cleaner because of statewide voter registration,” Kirk said. “If someone in Vigo County registers in another county, I get a notice immediately on my work screen,” and that voter can be removed from the Vigo County voter registration, she said.

“We are also getting notices from the Indiana Department of Health for people who have passed away, such as if they lived in Terre Haute but went to a hospital in Indianapolis. We never got such [death] notices before, but now our notice comes from the state, as opposed to just the county health department,” Kirk said.

Voter registration has become an issue in itself this election. Kirk said the county’s Voter Registration office has handled several hundred registrations/transfers daily since the primary.

Rokita, a Republican, was among five secretaries of state invited by the Department of Defense to travel last week into Iraq and Afghanistan to inspect the absentee ballot process and meet with troops and military voting representatives.

The delegation also visited Landstuhl Air Force Base in Germany before returning. During the May 2008 primary in Indiana, voting among military personnel overseas was up more than 500 percent compared to the turnout in the 2006 primary, the last federal election cycle. To date, Hoosiers serving in the military stateside and abroad have requested more than 5,700 ballots for the November election, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

More than 4.4 million people are registered to vote in Indiana, marking a new record just days before the state’s voter registration deadline Monday. The number Thursday was 4,409,399 — or nearly 70 percent of the state’s 6.3 million residents. The previous record for a presidential election was 4.2 million in 2004, said Jim Gavin, spokesman for the Indiana Secretary of State.

At the top of the general election is the presidential race between Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. Vice presidential candidates are Democrat Sen. Joseph Biden and Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The Hoosier ballot also will have 10 other presidential write-in candidates for Independent, Americas, Constitution, Green and Socialist parties.

Hoosiers also will decide whether to re-elect Gov. Mitch Daniels and Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, or Democrat challengers Jill Long Thompson and Dennie Oxley, or Libertarian candidates Andy Horning and Lisa Kelly.

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter is not seeking re-election, which opens that office to two new candidates — Republican Greg Zoeller and Democrat Linda Pence. Also, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed did not seek re-election after serving four terms. Republican Tony Bennett and Democrat Richard D. Wood are vying for that office.

In the Wabash Valley, voters will determine whether to re-elect U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, or elect Republican challenger Greg Goode of Terre Haute to the Eighth District congressional seat. In the Indiana General Assembly, Rep. F. Dale Grubb, D-Covington, is uncontested in House District 42. He is among 26 of 100 House seats uncontested. Half the 50 Indiana Senate seats are up for election, with 10 uncontested.

Other House races include District 43 between incumbent Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, and Republican Ryan J. Cummins; District 44 with incumbent Rep. Amos Thomas, R-Brazil, and Democrat challenger Nancy A. Michael and Libertarian candidate Darrel Goldman.

In District 44, incumbent Rep. Bruce A. Borders, R-Jasonville, is challenged by Democrat Rick Marshall. In District 46, incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher, D-Riley, faces Republican Bob Heaton. In the state Senate District 37, which includes the northern third of Clay County, incumbent Sen. Richard Bray, R-Martinsville, faces Democrat Joseph F. Osborn.

In Vigo County, Republican Daniel W. Kelly and Democrat Michael R. Rader are vying for Vigo County Superior Court Division 5 judge; Democrat incumbent Patricia Mansard is running against Republican Bill Treadway for county clerk; Republican Bruce Royer faces Democrat Nancy Allsup for county recorder; and incumbent Democrat Paul Mason and Republican Brad Anderson are vying for District 3 county commissioner.

Voters will select three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council. Candidates are Democrats Mark D. Bird (incumbent), William C. Bryan, Ed Ping and Republicans Mike Morris (incumbent), Tim Hennessy and Angela Miller-Treadway.

Vigo County School Board candidates in District 1 are incumbents Mel Burks and Jacqueline L. Lower and challenger Larry Faulkner. For School Board District 3, candidates are Donald V. Gamble and incumbent Paul G. Lockhart.

Voters in Vigo County will find four incumbents and one newcomer uncontested on the November ballot.

Incumbent Democrat Phillip I. Adler is uncontested for a third term as judge of Vigo County Superior Court Division 2. Incumbent David R. Crockett, a Democrat, is uncontested for a second term as Vigo County treasurer. Incumbent Dr. Roland M. Kohr, a pathologist, is uncontested for a second consecutive term as Vigo County coroner. Kohr had served two prior consecutive terms from 1989 to 1996 as county coroner. Democrat Judith A. Anderson is uncontested for a third term as District 2 county commissioner.

Democrat Timothy M. Seprodi is uncontested for a first term as Vigo County auditor.

Voters in Harrison Township will see a referendum question about a township assessor.

Under Indiana’s property tax reform bill, now called House Enrolled Act 1001, township assessors were eliminated. However, for townships with more than 15,000 parcels, Hoosier voters will determine if that responsibility should be given to the county assessor, thus consolidating another tax-supported office.

The question is, “Should the assessing duties of the elected township assessor in the township be transferred to the county auditor?”

The question will only be on the ballot for eight precincts, all in Harrison Township.



Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.