Polls open across Indiana for early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 6, allowing those who prefer to cast their ballots before Election Day to do so now.
What’s on the ballot in Gary?
Gary voters will decide who will shape policing, taxation, and public services in six local contests. They will also choose who will represent Indiana’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The congressional seat was the focus of redistricting efforts backed by the White House last year. The push for a new map, which also targeted Indianapolis and Indiana’s 7th District, would have drastically diluted the votes of Black voters in the state’s two largest Black population centers. The Indiana Senate foiled it, however, voting down the midcycle plan 31-19.
In the 1st District contest, the incumbent, Democrat Frank Mrvan, will face Republican Barbara Regnitz, who currently serves on the Porter County Board of Commissioners.
With only one federal contest on the ballot, attention is largely focused on county and township offices.
In the Lake County sheriff’s office race, Democrat Jerry Williams will face Republican David Crane Jr. Williams, a longtime Indiana State Police officer who also briefly served as interim police chief of the Gary Police Department, can become the first Black sheriff in Lake County history, if elected.
These are the races that will appear on ballots in Gary:
- U.S. Representative (Indiana’s 1st Congressional District)
- Indiana State Representatives (districts 2,3,14; incumbents are running uncontested)
- Lake County Sheriff
- Lake County Assessor
- Lake County Auditor
- Lake County Clerk
- Lake County Council
- Calumet Township Trustee
Early voting and mail-in ballot deadlines
Early voting will continue through Monday, Nov. 2. Eligible voters may also cast ballots by mail.
In Indiana, voters who want a mail-in ballot have to have a state-designated reason for requesting one, such as taking care of a sick person or being over 65 years old. There are 12 qualifying reasons. Hoosiers have until Oct. 22 to request a mailed ballot. Mail-in ballots must be received by the county election board by 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 3 .
Where are early voting sites in Gary or Lake County?
Gary residents can cast early ballots at the Gary Public Library, the city’s only early-voting location, during the following hours:
- 9 a.m. to 3 p.m Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
- 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday
- 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 31
- 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 2 (Monday before Election Day)
Polling locations will be closed Monday, Oct 12, for a federal holiday.
Registered voters in Lake County may also cast ballots at any early-voting site across the county, including in East Chicago, Hammond, Highland, Hobart, Lowell, Munster, Schererville, St. John, Winfield, and at the Lake County Board of Elections.
