Just like the early bird after the worm, Lake and Porter County voters turned out in the crisp, cold, sunny weather Tuesday to beat the crowds on the first day of early voting.
As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, 490 people voted during early voting throughout Lake County’s 11 early voting locations, surpassing the first day of in-person voting in previous primary elections, said Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Director Michelle Fajman.
In the 2022 primary election, 306 people cast a ballot during the first day of early in-person voting, and in the 2018 primary election, 186 people cast a ballot the first day of early in-person voting.
“That’s what we like to see,” Fajman said.
Early voting in Lake County was mostly smooth, Fajman said, with the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration holding an emergency meeting Tuesday afternoon after a voter pointed out an error in one race.
For those voting for Winfield Town Council, the ballots said to vote for one, but it should’ve said to vote for two, Fajman said. The race impacts five precincts and only the Republican ballot, as no Democrats filed to run in that race, she said.
Before the error was caught, four people had cast a ballot in that race: two during early in-person voting and two through mail-in ballot, Fajman said.
The board unanimously voted to correct the ballot. The board also voted unanimously to replace one machine in each location, to be stored under lock and key, and to put in a new machine for Winfield voters to vote on.
The board also conducted a public test to ensure that the machines would correctly state that two candidates can be selected.
The board voted unanimously to send the voters forms to apply for in-person absentee ballots to correct their votes.
The voter who noticed the error Tuesday notified staff and did not cast a ballot, Fajman said. The board voted unanimously to retract that voter’s sign-in so that the voter could return at a later date to cast a ballot.
Board member John Reed said, “It’s fortunate” that the error was caught early and during the primary election, not the general election. He asked Fajman how ballot language is proofread.
Fajman said Democrats and Republicans in the election office proofread the ballots a minimum of three times.
“We are looking into how it happened, why it happened, and how can we solve that for the future,” Fajman said.
Overall, voters didn’t submit any complaints Tuesday and the voting process went smoothly, Fajman said.
“It seems that it’s all running smoothly,” Fajman said.
Early voting is an “easy, convenient and secure way” to vote, Fajman said.
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“You never know when an emergency can happen, so it’s good to be prepared,” Fajman said.
Rita Schreiner, 66, and her husband Bill Schreiner, 67, both of Crown Point, participated in early voting a few years back because they had to travel on Election Day, and they’ve utilized early voting ever since.
“We wanted to be a part of the process and get it done, and get it done easily,” Rita Schreiner said.
They both cast their ballots at the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration office in Crown Point Tuesday, and they said the process was easy: show identification, confirm registration, then head to the ballot box, where the machines are easy to use.
“Every step is shown to you,” Rita Schreiner said.
Rita Schreiner said a top issue for her in the midterm elections will be “meaningful change.”
“Things that actually happen and really represent people, not the political trajectory,” she said.
Bill Schreiner said he hopes this year’s midterm elections see a large voter turnout. Voters should make a plan to vote and invite friends and family to vote as well, he said.
“There’s a lot of ways to (vote), just do it,” he said.
Olshianna Doss, 31, utilized early voting for the first time Tuesday at the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration office in Crown Point. Doss, a Hobart resident, said the process was swift.
“It’s better, easier. In and out and get it done,” Doss said.
Doss said she wanted to ensure she voted in support of Myesha Jones, her aunt, who is running for Ross Township Trustee. In the 2026 election, Doss said she’s most concerned about ensuring that local funds are allocated for “assistance for people in need.”
“Your vote matters,” Doss said. “I think we realize that now with the president.”
Dan Govert, a retiree who lives in Griffith, cast a ballot at the Wicker Park location in Highland Tuesday afternoon. Govert said early voting has been his voting plan for many years because it is convenient.
“I kind of wanted to avoid being at the last minute in case something came up,” Govert said.
Govert commended the Lake County election officials who organize early voting because there are so many locations to early vote in the county.
During the midterm elections, Govert said it’s important to have a balance of incumbent members and new members.
“You want a nice mix of veterans, mix it with new people, new views,” Govert said.
With so many options for voting, Govert said “there’s no excuse” for voters not to cast a ballot.
“Everybody is bold to complain, but turnout is always disappointing,” Govert said.
Information on early voting in Lake County can be found at lakecountyin.gov/departments/voters/EARLY-POLLING-LOCATIONS-TIMES/.
PORTER COUNTY
At the Hebron Community Center, Rick Ashby was only the third voter to pass through.
“Actually, I’ll be a judge in the primary, so I vote early,” he said after claiming an “I voted” sticker from his wife, poll worker Robin Ashby, who was working the vote center with Linda Anderson of Lakes of the Four Seasons.
It was Robin Ashby’s first time working early voting. “I’m a substitute today,” she said. Anderson has worked early voting before. “Last election got busy,” she recalled. “Started out slow, but it got busy.”
Fourteen miles away at the Porter County Administration Building, poll workers were dealing with a gentle volume. They had 32 voters by 1:30 p.m.
Ken Knuppel, of Valparaiso, said voting early was just better than waiting in line later. “If you have free time, may as well skip the line and do it early,” he said before heading to the gym.
Behind him, mother and son Gwen and John Poncher, of unincorporated Valparaiso, were of the same mind.
“It’s a nice day and we just thought we’d get it taken care of,” said Gwen Poncher. “Sometimes it’s so busy you stand in line. Last year we waited in line. That was the presidential.”
Like Knuppel, they exited into the spring afternoon to take care of other leisurely pursuits, for them, lunch and running errands. Back in the conference room given over to voting machines, the four poll workers said they’d had “more technical glitches than voters,” but even those were fortunately limited.
“It was a software update. That was all it was,” said poll worker Susan Groggins, of Valparaiso. The other three reminisced about their former colleague, Cher, who worked the polls for many years and always brought seasonal decorations for the tables with her.
“I just said this morning, the first day always makes me think of Cher. She was the nicest lady,” said poll worker Jennifer Gervase, of Valparaiso.
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The new mix of workers has plenty of time to get attached to each other as well. They’re all working five days a week, plus Saturdays during the early voting period, which runs to noon on May 4. “We’re team-building here,” Groggins quipped.
While everyone on the team agreed the new voting machines with their sound and light feedback to let voters know when they’ve made a selection are much more user-friendly than the old ones, they also directed voters to https://indianavoters.in.gov/ to find out who’s on their ballot before they even arrive to cast their votes.
For more information on early voting in Porter County, go to www.portercountyin.gov and click on “Elections & Voting.”
[email protected]; Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.