Some election-related notes to read as you stand in line to vote this afternoon.
CONCERNS RAISED OVER SLOW SERVICE FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS: The Tippecanoe County Election Board raised a flag Tuesday, encouraging people who haven’t returned mail-in ballots to deliver them by hand, if possible, before Election Day, Nov. 3, given the board’s mounting concerns about delayed mail service.
During a meeting called and held Tuesday, the advice stemmed from a report from Randy Vonderheide, a Republican appointee to the three-member election board, that a Tippecanoe County absentee voter in Alabama told him that it took 21 days from the day a requested mail-in ballot was sent and when they received it.
“I can only guess how long it will take that voter to get the ballot to Tippecanoe County,” Vonderheide said. “The purpose here is to advise the public, if you’re local and you can do it, you may want to hand deliver your absentee ballot, because if you drop it in the mail, we have no control over that.”
By the Oct. 22 application deadline for mail-ins, Tippecanoe County’s election office sent 2,176 ballots, Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said. As of Tuesday morning, 1,160 of those had been returned, according to county records.
Those ballots must be received by 6 p.m. Nov. 3 to be counted.
Roush said the election office is working with the local post office for Election Day pickups to meet that deadline.
She said the county typically gets about 40 mail-in ballots that arrive after that cutoff.
Representatives with the U.S. Postal Service did not immediately respond to questions.
Among the options:
Voters with mail-in ballots may hand deliver them to the Tippecanoe County Elections Office, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette, by 6 p.m. Nov. 3 on Election Day. Mail-in ballots also may be delivered by hand to any of the county’s vote centers.
Mail-in ballots also may be returned to the county’s election office by a family member or someone in the voter’s household.
Voters who applied for a mail-in ballot but decide later to vote in person may do that by surrendering the mail-in ballot at a polling place or the county election office. If the mail-in ballot did not arrive, the voter may declare that when going to vote in person. In each case, the voter is required to sign a form explaining the reason for not voting with the mail-in ballot they applied for.
TIPPECANOE TOWNSHIP BALLOT FIX: AN UPDATE: About 40 of the 424 Tippecanoe Township residents who had already voted between Oct. 9 and Oct. 21 – a span that featured ballots missing the name of a township trustee candidate – had recast their ballots, as of Tuesday, County Clerk Julie Roush said.
The problem was discovered and then fixed Oct. 21 after nearly two weeks over early voting on ballots that didn’t include Democratic candidate Holden Mugford, who is challenging Republican incumbent Bill Jones for the trustee position in the township north of West Lafayette and in and around Battle Ground.
Mugford, who was selected a day before early voting started Oct. 6 by the county Democratic Party to fill a vacancy when another candidate moved out of Tippecanoe Township, was on ballots for the first three days of early voting. His name was left off by the county’s voting machine vendor, MicroVote, when it fixed problems found on ballots in two uncontested races in Wea Township.
Voters involved were contacted by mail and may cast new ballots:
At the county elections office at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, through Oct. 30; and 8 a.m.-noon Nov. 2.
10 a.m.-2 .m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St. in Battle Ground. The site will be open only for those who voted Oct. 9-21 and want a new ballot. No other voting machines will be there that day.
Roush said voters who voted straight ticket Republican or voted for Jones and don’t intend to change that vote don’t have to revote. Those votes will count for Jones, she said.
Straight party Democratic ballots cast will be counted for Mugford, Roush said. Those voters don’t need to recast a ballot, either.
In both cases, though, voters among the 424 in Tippecanoe Township may recast their entire ballot.
Those who want to cast new ballots need to do that before noon Nov. 2, election officials said. Because they are considered early in-person absentee ballots, they can’t be redone on Election Day, Nov. 3, they said.
Last week, election officials said that once the county had unofficial results on Election Night – including results from Tippecanoe Township residents who come back to vote again – the Election Board would look at the margin between the candidates. If it’s greater than the number of uncorrected ballots affected by the error in the Tippecanoe Township trustee contest, then the winner will stand. If the winning margin is less than the uncorrected number of impacted voters, then the Tippecanoe County Election Board would need to consider the best remedy.
YOUR VOTER GUIDE: With less than a week until Election Day, are you looking for a hand unraveling the names and issues on the ballot? Here’s a look at your early polling options, vote centers open on and before Election Day and Q&As with candidates in contested races on Tippecanoe County ballots.
WHERE TO VOTE TODAY AND THE REST OF THE WEEK: Here’s a schedule for early voting sites in Tippecanoe County:
Through Friday, Oct. 30
Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. Hours 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette. Hours: Noon-6 p.m.
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette. Hours: Noon-6 p.m.
Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette. Hours: Noon-6 p.m.
John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette. Hours: Noon-6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31
Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. Hours 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette. Hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette. Hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette. Hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette. Hours: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nov. 2
Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette. Hours: 8 a.m.-noon.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
PAINTER’S CONTRACT EXTENDED: Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter agreed to contract extension that will keep him with the Boilermakers through the 2030-31 season, the university announced Tuesday. Financial terms weren’t released, pending final approval by Purdue’s trustees when they meet Dec. 11. But reporting for the Indianapolis Star, Nathan Baird wrote that the new contract included a raise in his base salary from $5.1 million to $7 million. Here’s more from the Indy Star: “Purdue makes Matt Painter a top-10 paid college basketball coach, source says.”
VETERANS STAND DOWN EVENT NOV. 1: The local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans will host a Veterans Stand Down event, followed by a resource fair, Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds.
The event is a designed to help homeless and at-risk veterans by bringing them together in one location to receive a range of supplies, services and support. More than 50 community partners will be there to offer information and services, including: Veterans Affairs benefits, wellness checks, mental health support, dental check-ups, haircuts, employment assistance, financial counseling, recovery/addiction counseling, educational opportunities, peer support, insurance education and gaming therapy.
The Veterans Stand Down will be 9:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday for those who register in advance at any of these locations: LTHC, Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM), Mental Health America (MHA) Wabash Valley Region, Mary T. Klinker Veteran Resource Center, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) West Central Indiana, the Outreach Advocacy Center, the West Lafayette Library, Valley Oaks, and the Social or Outreach teams at the Lafayette or West Lafayette Police Departments and the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office.
A resource fair open to the public will follow, from noon-2 p.m. Sunday at the Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road.
LAFAYETTE JEFF ANNOUNCES PERFORMING ARTS HALL OF FAME CLASS: Lafayette Jefferson High School this week named for alumni to its second class of its Performing Arts Hall of Fame. They include:
Patrick Hession, class of 1986: Hession is a jazz trumpet player who has been played with the Lionel Hampton Big Band, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson and Big Bop Nouveau, and Harry James Orchestra. During his time at Lafayette Jeff, he performed in concert, jazz and marching bands and was selected for the Indiana All-State Band in 1985 and 1986.
Jack Klink, class of 2010: Now a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, Klink started by documenting school concerts, musicals and First Edition performances while in Lafayette Jeff’s Radio and Television program. His credits as a director, producer, cinematographer and editor include work with Saturday Night Live’s “At Home” episodes and executive producer for the second season of “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace,” as well as local productions, including Lafayette’s official Bicentennial video in 2025.
Janet Priest, class of 1970: Over a 40-year career, Priest was director of orchestras and music department chair for the Community Schools of Frankfort, later spending eight years at Lafayette Jeff as assistant orchestra director, oboe specialist and woodwind sectional coach. Since retiring, she helped establish the Clinton County Orchestra.
Cortney Wolfson Holbrook, class of 2003: Getting a start in First Edition, Varsity Concert Choir, Accents, concert bands and Jefferson Players at Lafayette Jeff, her Broadway credits include Eponine in “Les Miserables,” Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family” and Nicola in “Kinky Boots.” She also appeared in the first national tour of “Legally Blonde,” toured with “The Addams Family,” and played Romy in the world premiere of “Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion.”
The four will be part of an induction ceremony in conjunction with production of “The Little Mermaid,” 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Jefferson High School’s Richard Jaeger Theatre, following a day of workshops and clinics at the school Nov. 13 conducted by members of the Jeff Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
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