By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – Early voting began Oct 10 in Wabash County.
In its first 19 days, more voters have cast early voting ballots than in the entire time set aside for early voting in 2014, the last mid-term election, according to Wabash County Clerk Elaine Martin.
By Monday morning, Oct. 29, 2,226 people have cast early ballots for the Nov. 6 General Election, Martin told The Paper of Wabash County. That compares to 1,178 people who cast votes in 2014.
“I believe the school board races for MSD and Manchester, plus the school referendum for Manchester is the biggest concern on the local level,” Martin said.
The race for U.S. Senate between Democrat incumbent Joe Donnelly and Republican challenger Mike Braun also may be bringing people to the polls, she added.
Early voting will continue at the clerk’s office in the Wabash County Judicial Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 2, and from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 5.
Additionally, voters can cast early ballots from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at three locations around Wabash County – the clerk’s office, Peabody Retirement Community in North Manchester and at the LaFontaine/Liberty Township Fire Department in LaFontaine. Similar voting hours took place Saturday, Oct. 27.
Voting on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6, will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 10 Vote Centers around Wabash County.
Those sites in the City of Wabash are:
First United Methodist Church, 110 N Cass St., Wabash
Wellbrooke of Wabash, 20 N. John Kissinger Drive, Wabash
Zion Lutheran Church, 173 Hale Drive, Wabash.
Sites around Wabash County are:
LaFontaine/Liberty Township Fire Department, 12 S Wabash Ave., LaFontaine
Lagro Town Hall, 230 Buchanan St., Lagro.
Pleasant Township Fire Department, 10459 N. Ogden Road, Laketon.
North Manchester Public Safety Building (Police/Fire Dept), 709 W. Main St., North Manchester
North Manchester Public Library, 405 N. Market St., North Manchester.
Roann Town Hall, 110 N. Chippewa St., Roann
Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 150 N 2nd St., Somerset
To vote, one must A voter must provide government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot, according to the Indiana Election Division. The ID must include the following four criteria:
The voter’s photo.
The voter’s name, which must conform with one’s voter registration record. Conform does not mean identical.
An expiration date, which must be current or have expired sometime after the date of the last General Election (November 8, 2016).
Certain military and veteran IDs with no expiration date or an “indefinite” expiration date are acceptable.
Must be issued by the State of Indiana or the U.S. government.
In most cases, an Indiana driver license, Indiana photo ID card, Military ID or U.S. passport is sufficient. Interim IDs issued by the BMV are also acceptable. Public university IDs may be used, if the ID meets all four criteria required under Indiana law, which are noted above.
If you are unable or unwilling to present ID meeting these requirements, you may cast a provisional ballot. If you cast a provisional ballot, you have until noon, ten days after the election to follow up with the county election board and either provide the necessary documentation or affirm one of the law’s exemptions applies to you.
Here is what will appear on ballots around Wabash County:
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
William C. Hartley Jr., Republican
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
Lori Draper, Republican
WABASH COUNTY RECORDER
Eric Rish, Republican
WABASH COUNTY SHERIFF
Ryan T. Baker, Republican
WABASH COUNTY ASSESSOR
Kelly Schenkel, Republican
COUNTY COMMISSIONER — DISTRICT 2
Jeff Dawes, Republican
COUNTY COUNCIL — DISTRICT 1
Matthew J. Mize, Republican
COUNTY COUNCIL — DISTRICT 2
Barbara Pearson, Republican
Jane Long, Democrat
COUNTY COUNCIL — DISTRICT 3
Matt Dillon, Republican
COUNTY COUNCIL — DISTRICT 4
Kyle M. Bowman, Republican
TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES
Chester
Florence “Flo” Dahlstrom, Republican
Lagro
Eric “ET” Terrell, Republican
Nancy Whitmer, Democrat
Beverly Burns, Independent
Liberty
Patty Lengel-Godfroy, Republican
Noble
Lori Harnish, Republican
Paw Paw
Ashley Cordes, Republican
Pleasant
Rebecca (Becky) Warmuth, Democrat
Waltz
Michael A. Ruse, Republican
TOWNSHIP ADVISORY BOARD
Chester
Bret Bechtold, Republican
Wayne Stephan, Republican
Robert Lamoine “Moe” Thomas, Republican
Lagro
Rob Cole, Republican
Gary W. Hunter, Republican
Deb Schenkel, Republican
Lloyd M. Bentley, Democrat
Liberty
Greg Baldwin, Republican
Diana K. Heath, Republican
Ronald Huston, Republican
Donald J. Rose, Democrat
Noble
Brenda Hegel, Republican
Steven Kirtlan, Republican
William Plummer, Republican
Andrew Osborne, Democrat
Paw Paw
Brian D. Baker, Republican
Scott Dawes, Republican
Mike Schuler, Republican
Pleasant
Stan Bagley, Republican
David M. Hawkins, Republican
William E. Parker, Republican
Glendon R. Morgan, Democrat
Waltz
Jeremy Boardman, Republican
April DeVore, Republican
Derek Finch, Republican
MANCHESTER SCHOOL BOARD
Michael Dixon, Town District
Richard Espeset, Town District
Kevin W. Kling, Town District
Amanda Shambarger, Town District
Benjamin D.R. Vanderpool, Town District
Sally Krouse, Chester Township District
David W Terflinger, Chester Township District
METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD
Douglas A. Bogert, NW District
Todd Dazey, NW District
Teresa L. Galley, NW District
Ryan Rosen, NW District
Sandy Davis, NE District
Matt Driscoll, NE District
Tiffany Haupert, NE District
In addition, voters in the Manchester Community Schools District will vote yes or no on a referendum about the school district’s proposed building project and safety measures.
There also is a statewide public question which voters will vote yes or no for. That question asks if the Legislature should be forced to enact a balanced budget each fiscal year?