Election Day Thread

5:26: For your later afternoon entertainment, Circle City Pundit reports that GOP attorneys have been dispatched to a problem precinct on the near-eastside--home to the infamous Wilson Allen. Not surprisingly, election judges were wearing Carson buttons. Even more disturbing was the discovery that the cardboard ballot box into which ballots are deposited was unsealed. Even more disappointing are the turnout numbers I'm hearing. Turnout in both Democratic and Republican precincts is a measly 10%-15%. The turnout in the Republican areas doesn't look good enough to overcome the Democratic advantage in the district. Elrod is going to have to count on cross-over Democratic votes to win.

4:12 p.m.: The Democratic-controlled Marion Co. Election Board turned down a Republican request this afternoon to keep open those polls which opened late today a full 12 hours. A total of 8 precincts, primarily in heavily Republican precincts, failed to open on time today because of the failure of inspectors to arrive on time. Who cares about disenfranchising voters, particularly when they are located in predominately white, Republican precincts?

2:00 p.m.: Beth White is disputing Tom John's claim earlier today that there were any missing ballots. No response from John yet. Republicans seem pleased with turnouts so far in Republican-leaning precincts, particularly in the south. Warren Township is seeing a better than expected turnout according to one observer. Voter turnout in Washington Township is looking good, although that may not be good news for Democrat Andre Carson. A source tells me that Jewish voters are coming out to cast a vote against Carson. In the past, Julia Carson carried the Jewish vote overwhelmingly. Anecdotally, it also appears Elrod has successfully cut into Carson's support among GLBT voters. Many GLBT voters who always voted for Julia Carson in the past are casting a vote in this election for Jon Elrod. Carson's loss of support among these two constituencies could make the difference today. Undecided voters will be key. Although Carson reportedly held a single-digit lead in internal polls taken by both parties prior to the election, some say the numbers were very similar to the numbers we saw going into last year's mayoral election. On election day, the undecideds broke heavily in favor of Ballard, putting him over the top. Will the undecideds break for Elrod or Carson?

9:33 a.m.: Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John announced an award offer this morning to help discover the whereabouts of thousands of ballots he says Marion Co. Clerk Beth White's office seems to have misplaced. "As she stated on the record this morning, there are thousands of ballots 'out there somewhere' and Clerk White can't seem to find them," John stated. "Given that these ballots could be unscrupulously placed in White's insecure cardboard ballot boxes, it is imperative that we locate and recover these ballots as soon as possible." John is offering a $100 reward to anyone who can locate these missing ballots. This is indeed a very troubling sign. I've been convinced from day one that the Carson political machine will do whatever it takes to hold on to this seat. They stole the 7th District caucus vote for Andre. Now they'll try to steal the special election. Will your vote count today if Carson's campaign is able to surreptitiously insert marked ballots into those flimsy cardboard boxes White is storing ballots in today after you cast your vote, which are to be transferred to the convention center for counting after the polls close?

8:16 a.m.: The Clerk's office reported more than 6,500 absentee ballots were cast for the special election. Those numbers don't suggest voter turnout will be high. It's well below the 10,400 cast in last year's municipal election and about half the number cast in the 2006 general election. Based on the number of self-identified Republican and Democratic voters who cast absentee ballots, Democrats and Republicans were represented almost equally with a little more than a hundred Democrats than Republicans casting an absentee ballot. A Republican source tells me the Elrod campaign is encouraged by those numbers.

7:43 a.m.: At least 6 precincts did not open on time this morning. The Clerk's office now claims all but two of those precincts are now opened.

6:55 a.m. : Marion Co. Clerk Beth White is up to her old tricks. Preliminary reports indicate several heavily Republican precincts in Franklin and Perry Townships did not open at 6:00 a.m. Beverly Elrod, mother of Jon Elrod, is the precinct committeeperson for Franklin 13. As of 6:25 a.m. no inspector had arrived and the precinct remained closed. As for the Voter ID law, a Pike Township voter reports that election workers were not requiring voters to present a Voter ID as required by Indiana law. Other voters are complaining about the new location of their polling places being inconvenient.

The clip below is WTHR's rundown of the 7th District race from last night's broadcast. Kevin Rader notes that Andre Carson began his campaign running as an agent of change but almost immediately turned to Washington to run his campaign and raise money for him. He contrasts that with Jon Elrod, who has had to fight against the odds to win every political office to which he's been elected.