After 2024 Election Day absence, polling place assigned to Purdue for early and day-of primary voting
Plus, an independent candidate emerges in Indiana House District 13. Revelations from Purdue’s nuclear summit. Wabash Township offers support for lost SNAP benefits. And more.
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AFTER 2024 ELECTION DAY ABSENCE, POLLING PLACE ASSIGNED TO PURDUE FOR EARLY AND DAY-OF PRIMARY VOTING
After a confusing scramble over polling places at Purdue during the 2024 general election, county officials said Thursday that things are in place to have an early voting site and a day-of vote center on campus during the May 2026 primary.
Mike Smith, a county elections office staff member who coordinates voting sites, told the Tippecanoe County Election Board that a tentative list of vote centers includes an April 21 early voting date at the Córdova Recreation Center at Purdue.
The list also has an Election Day vote center site moving from West Lafayette City Hall to the Córdova Recreation Center for the May 5 primary.
“We’re ahead of it this year and, I think, it all worked out,” Smith said.
The Election Board did not finalize the vote center plans for the primary during its meeting Thursday. But the proposed schedule of early voting sites is listed online by the county elections office.
Purdue and the Election Board fielded tons of criticism leading up to the November 2024 general election when no vote centers were initially scheduled on campus. At the time, logistics due to construction on campus and changes in state election laws were blamed. The county Election Board said issues with Purdue sites weren’t worked out by August of that year, so they positioned vote center locations at other West Lafayette sites, based on density of registered voters.
Amid pressure and accusations of voter suppression – the absence of a polling place on campus would have been a first in a presidential election year dating to the start of the county’s use of vote centers in 2007 – Purdue and county election officials worked through issues of state-mandated available parking and dedicated internet service to set up a day of early voting at Co-Rec two weeks before Election Day.
On that day, by the end of six hours of voting, 1,312 voters cast ballots at the Co-Rec, putting it in the lead for the most voters at a one-day site on Tippecanoe County’s early voting schedule, according to the county election office.
But neither side could make things work for an Election Day site, given that the county’s 275 ballot machines had already been assigned and registered with state election officials to other vote centers by the time Purdue committed to finding space to accommodate on-campus voting.
Ken Jones, Tippecanoe County Democratic Party chair, said the plan “is a huge improvement over where we were in 2024.”
“My understanding is also that the county election board and Purdue have been collaborating very closely to find the solution and that it’s something that everyone wanted,” Jones said. “I think it’s a fantastic development.”
Purdue officials did not immediately comment on the plan Thursday.
With the vote center moving from West Lafayette City Hall to campus, West Lafayette also would have Election Day options at Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.; Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.; and the John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, according to a preliminary list of 15 Election Day vote centers across the county shared by the Election Board.
Registered voters in Tippecanoe County may vote at any vote center, regardless of where they live.
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INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE ANNOUNCES CHALLENGE OF MATT COMMONS IN HOUSE DISTRICT 13
Ben Davis, an IT technologist from Lafayette, announced this week that he’ll run as an independent candidate challenging state Rep. Matt Commons, a Williamsport Republican, in Indiana House District 13.
“I’m tired of the Democratic Party telling us that there is no point in running in deep ‘red’ districts,” Davis, 47, said this week. “When there are no viable candidates to represent working class voters and they aren’t playing to win, then democracy doesn’t stand a chance. We are either going to let MAGA run rampant or we are going to fight back.”
House District 13 includes a large part of southern and northern Tippecanoe County, along with all of Benton and Warren counties, and portions of Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton and White counties.
Davis, a Lafayette Jefferson High School grad who has been active recently in advocating for gender affirming health care in the community, said his move to announce now came after Commons announced his support a White House-driven congressional redistricting effort ahead of the 2026 midterms and this week’s victory by Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, in the New York City mayoral elections. Davis said he’d considered running in state Senate District 22 – where Sen. Ron Alting faces a primary challenge from Republican Richard Bagsby – but after hearing that Democrats were lining up in that district, “I figured that means I’m being called to run for this one.”
Davis said he’d run on issues dealing with affordability, wages for the working class and trying to counter a Republican supermajority in the Indiana House and Senate.
“From creating and allowing unaccountable entities that drain money from taxpayers like the (Indiana Economic Development Corp.) and charter schools, to creating laws that discriminate against minorities like gender-diverse kids, to generally not allowing bills from non-Republican legislators to be heard preventing proportional representation, this stranglehold on Indiana politics needs to end,” Davis said. “Not embracing cheap, renewable energy and accelerating the retirement of polluting fossil fuel plants, making it unsafe for people who can become pregnant, paying teachers a poverty wage, etc., the examples are innumerable and maddening.”
Commons, a high school teacher and an Army combat veteran, won his first term in 2025, after beating longtime state Rep. Sharon Negele in the 2024 Republican primary, centering his campaign on promises to stand against what he called “radical Biden-era Green New Deal” carbon capture pipelines, calls for more oversight of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and to promote conservative policies.
Commons took 73.7% of the vote when he faced Democrat Edward Moyer Jr. in 2024.
Commons in June announced his plans to run for re-election. No Democratic candidate has announced a run in House District 13.
The official candidate filing period ahead of the May 2026 primary starts Jan. 7.
GOING NUCLEAR AT PURDUE, IN INDIANA
Purdue was hopping this week with a series announcements and statewide initiatives tied to emerging nuclear technology as one answer to the state’s energy needs during a two-day Global Nuclear Energy Economic Summit. Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Leslie Bonilla Muñiz had a good overview in Thursday editions, starting here:
Nuclear energy leaders from across the country and world converged on West Lafayette Wednesday to reenergize an industry they hope will meet booming energy needs.
“Now’s the time. Indiana is the place,” said Indiana Energy and Natural Resources Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski. The state is “ready, and willing, and able to deploy nuclear.”
She spoke on the first of a two-day Global Nuclear Energy Economic Summit at Purdue University’s Loeb Playhouse, which was the launchpad for a flurry of announcements.
There, AES Indiana President Brandi Davis-Handy announced the company — one of the state’s “big five” investor-owned electric utilities — would study the feasibility of building small modular reactors at its Eagle Valley and Petersburg power plants.
The analysis will look at licensing, construction and operations, she said, plus siting factors like how the population is distributed, whether there’s water nearby for cooling, if transmission infrastructure can handle the power generated and emergency planning considerations.
The study will “guide the selection of the most suitable site and provide a clear growth path for future progress,” Davis-Handy said. It’s expected to be done by mid-2026.
Nuclear isn’t part of AES Indiana’s “current preferred portfolio,” spokeswoman Mallory Duncan said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle, but “we remain open to considering it in the future if it becomes more economically viable and aligns with the best interests of our customers.”
First American Nuclear staff also flocked to the stage to celebrate Tuesday’s announcement that the company will site its headquarters, manufacturing facilities and a specialized energy park in Indiana. That park will be the first in the country to operate in “closed-fuel cycle,” meaning that spent nuclear fuel will be reprocessed and reused, according to FANCO.
Purdue also launched a new Institute for Energy Innovation and announced the nation’s first online credential program in small modular reactors. University President Mung Chiang further celebrated a research and development agreement with nuclear manufacturer BWX Technologies.
Chiang later joined Indiana Gov. Mike Braun to headline the summit with a “fireside” chat.
“I feel confident that, if we play our cards right, Indiana will be … first on SMRs, on having data centers without burdening the average taxpayer,” Braun said.
For the rest, talking through more of the opportunities and challenges hashed out during Wednesday’s portion of the conference: “AES small modular reactor announcement highlights nuclear summit at Purdue.”
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
FOOD ASSISTANCE TO OFFSET SNAP CUTS OFFERED IN WABASH TOWNSHIP: Starting Thursday, Wabash Township – the second largest township in Tippecanoe County, covering West Lafayette and nearby areas – will process emergency food assistance for residents who have lost SNAP benefit during the federal government shutdown, Angel Valentin, township trustee, said.
Valentin said the township will provide food vouchers on a weekly basis for amounts equivalent to up to 25% of a Wabash Township resident’s monthly SNAP benefits. Approved applicants will receive a food voucher from a local grocery store to buy food items.
According to a township release, to receive emergency food assistance, SNAP recipients need to provide proof of residence in the township, a copy of a state or federally issued ID, and proof of current SNAP benefit eligibility. Individuals will be able to apply for assistance two weekdays prior to the date when benefits would have been loaded to their EBT card.
The Wabash Township office is at 2899 Klondike Road.
Earlier, Fairfield Township Trustee Monica Casanova said the Lafayette-based township would work with SNAP benefit recipients who live in the township and provide food vouchers to Pay Less Super Markets via a streamlined application process, due to the emergency situation.
Related reads:
Indianapolis Star’s Marissa Meador reported that Hoosiers who rely on SNAP will get partial benefits at least one week later than normal because of the federal government shutdown. Some won’t get any of that. Here’s more: “Hoosiers on SNAP will get partial benefits at least a week late, state says.”
Here’s another way to help food drive efforts. Through Nov. 25, Twin City Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat in Lafayette is hosting at “Fill the Ram” food drop-off site. Donations needed include canned goods, including meats, vegetables and fruits. The dealership is at 3838 Indiana 38 East.
For more about Food Finders Food Bank’s annual Drive Away Hunger fall food drive – whether through hosting a food drive, donating or volunteering – click the link below.
DATA CENTER PROPOSAL IN CLINTON COUNTY: J&C’s Jillian Ellison had this report from Frankfort, where officials in neighboring Clinton County are dealing with a data center proposal that has residents pushing back. Here’s more: “Clinton County commissioners table data center vote to standing-room-only crowd.”
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, here’s the scene in Tippecanoe County, where Lafayette, West Lafayette and the county agreed to new zoning definitions meant to hinder large data centers while they study more robust regulations in the coming year.
SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX REFERENDUM TRENDS: WFYI reporter Eric Weddle had a wrap-up on an Election Day that saw five school corporations in Indiana win property tax referendum campaigns – and one lose – in the first ballot questions since the state’s new property tax reform measures started to kick in. Among the winners: Avon, which included a high-profile effort by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith to get voters there to mark “no.” Here’s more: “Avon voters approve school tax renewal despite Beckwith opposition.”
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That’s good news about the Purdue voting site. The lack last year was just plain wrong. I was going to ask about parking, but with all of the other locations, those of us driving in can just use another site. So glad that PU students and staff will have this option.
PS - the Tippecanoe office building is fast and easy during early voting.
As one of your friendly poll volunteers on the Lafayette side of the Wabash and as a person who works on the other side of that same river, I appreciate the good will obvious in creating these poll site opportunities. We poll volunteers benefit from voters who don't feel over-challenged to find convenient locations to cast their ballots.