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Reports from The Indiana Citizen and TheStatehouseFile.com
November 5, 2024

Economy, inflation and taxes are major concerns

Voters were lined up 40 or 50 deep under overcast skies around 9 a.m. Tuesday in Indiana House District 25 at a polling site outside the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville.

They were eager to vote and share their opinions.

Tim Oliver of Zionsville said protecting women’s rights and supporting education were the most important issues for him in this election. He said it’s his civic responsibility to participate and says he votes not only in national elections but in local and midterm elections as well.

“I’m just voting today as an American,” Oliver said. “This election is really important to me as a Black American. That’s why I’m voting today.”

Kyle McCarty of Zionsville said the state of the economy and inflation were the most important factors that convinced him to vote.

“I would like to see spending reined in to see things helping us more on a local level, things that can benefit my community and me on a personal level,” McCarty, who was wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, said. “I just want to understand more where the money is going.”

Guy Relford, a local attorney and advocate for gun rights, said he was voting Tuesday because “it’s part of being an American” and because he wanted to protect the Second Amendment. The state of the economy, immigration and high property taxes were also concerns for him, he said, and he likes Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun and his proposals for capping taxes, adding “that should help.”

Dwight Adams, The Indiana Citizen

Voting from the kitchen table

Kitchen table issues brought Megan Berkshire to the polls in Seymour Tuesday morning. A stay-at-home mom with three children in school, she said her family is having to carefully budget to provide the basics. Her daughter’s dental appointment Tuesday afternoon to fill two cavities comes on top of the family’s rising electric and grocery bills.

“On paper, we should be doing really, really well,” Berkshire said, adding her husband has a good-paying job in the corporate world. “We really shouldn’t be struggling. We just shouldn’t.”

Lee Cross of Seymour was also concerned about the price of food, especially meat. He said he votes faithfully every election because he likes to see change.

When asked how an election could bring grocery bills down, he replied, “If the right person gets elected, it should change.”

Berkshire is not sure what elected officials can do to help with family’s budgets, but she too is expecting relief. Her message to whomever wins today’s election: “Figure it out.”

Marilyn Odendahl, The Indiana Citizen

‘I’m actively supporting democracy’

Recently, Hamilton County developed a new precinct, Delaware 3, which is stationed at the Hamilton East Public Library. Due to assigned voting locations, this addition has caused confusion for voters that Inspector Mark Eley is responsible for clearing up.

“I think this has caused major headaches for people,” Eley said. “Some people get upset about it, but we do everything we can to help people get to vote.”

Eley received an email a couple months ago, prompting him to volunteer. The retiree has spent the last two days prepping the location and still faces a 14-hour day today.

“I was excited because it’s something new. That’s what my retirement is about,” Eley said. “I always vote, but now I’m actively supporting democracy.”

Eley deals with any outstanding issue, whether that’s ID verification or address changes. While he helps a lot, he also has to send people like Michael Madden away due to unsuccessful registrations.

Madden would have been a first-time voter, but unfortunately he was unable to vote due to a registration error.

“I was excited,” Madden said. “I had a huge test the other day that I was more nervous about.”

Maggie McGuire, TheStatehouseFile.com

Marion County votes for the American dream

Noni Smith is a working mom and a college student who aspires to achieve, in her words, “the American dream.”

Smith says that when she went to the polls today, she was voting to support women and students like herself, her older parents, and her friends of  different cultures, identities and backgrounds.

She said the voting experience meant a lot to her, especially as a Black woman.

“For me, it was unreal,” Smith said.

Smith’s biggest concern in this election is the economy. She said she entered the workforce right after she graduated high school. She has bought groceries for a long time, purchased her own car, and worked for almost everything she owns today. To her, hard work is the definition of the American dream.

“It is honestly almost heartbreaking to hear or see that the American dream is dead,” she said. “I really just want to make sure that’s an opportunity that I can grasp and my kid and everyone else.”

Joe Larue voted today for the third time. He felt this year was the best experience.

“This one was really smooth, and it felt, I don’t know, a lot more optimistic.”

Larue said he was voting in support of the opportunities of future generations and women.

“I want a world in which she feels comfortable being herself,” Larue said looking at Smith.

He also hopes to live in a country where American discourse is welcome. Larue shared that he voted for Kamala Harris because he does not think Donald Trump is a positive influence on American political conversation.

“At the end of the day, this country has always moved forward and taken steps forward, but I was not gonna vote for somebody who’s gonna slow that progress down,” Larue said.

Anna Cecil, TheStatehouseFile.com

LGTBQ voter: ‘We need to show up’

Boone County resident Calx Bishop voted in his second presidential election Tuesday. He shared in the anxiety felt across the country, but he also felt there was hope to be had.

“They [the elections] were both very, equally chaotic and just stressful,” Bishop said. “This one, though, I’ve seen a much bigger turnout, which I think is a great sign, and there has been a much larger outcry on social media.”

Bishop is part of the LGTBQ community and said he is voting for transgender rights. Part of his motivation to vote is to ensure others in similar situations have a chance to be heard. He knows that the results of tonight’s election will directly impact himself and those in his surrounding tight circle.

“Lots of people’s rights are on the line, and unfortunately, this election doesn’t just affect the individual,” Bishop said. “If I don’t come out and vote for the people I want to put in office, I don’t get my rights. We need to show up, and a lot of people have come together for this election.”

Maggie McGuire, TheStatehouseFile.com