First day of voting: Long lines, in a mid-range election opener

Plus, ceremonial dirt on $56.9M John Purdue Block redevelopment. Lafayette gives go-ahead to townhomes at former site of The Pub, Anvil 26 apartments on Home Hospital ground. And more.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

The line to check in during the first day of early vote Tuesday left waits of more than a half-hour at the County Office Building in downtown Lafayette.

By the end of the first day, at the sole early voting spot open at this point, 868 voters had cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, Tippecanoe County election officials said Tuesday.

Based on recent history, that put the start of the 2024 election voting cycle in the middle range.

Here were the first-day Tippecanoe County tallies at the past four presidential elections:

• 2024: 868

• 2020: 1,024

• 2016: 665

• 2012: 702

Early voting continues this week and next week, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St.

Additional early voting sites are lined up after that. For a full list of early voting sites and Election Day vote centers, check here.

For a list of candidates on Tippecanoe County ballots, here’s a link. To see your specific ballot, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.

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CEREMONIAL DIRT TURNED ON JOHN PURDUE BLOCK REDEVELOPMENT

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

All the demolition and digging along Second Street, between Columbia and South streets, was prelude, apparently, to a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday at a $56.9 million John Purdue Block redevelopment project.