Abortion, economy among issues driving Southern Indiana voters to polls
May 3—SOUTHERN INDIANA — Melissa Blair came out to the polls Tuesday with her mother Jackie Woods and her young son at the Floyd County 4-H Fairgrounds in New Albany. She shared concerns for female reproductive rights with the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Blair said she wants to make sure that the officials elected into office are upholding the laws of the president that was democratically elected.
"We need politicians that will stand up for what they know is right and not just what they think their voters want to hear," Blair said.
Looking more locally, Blair, a New Albany resident, said she would like to see more affordable housing and more focus given to helping people experiencing homelessness.
Floyds Knobs residents John and Jeannine Mohler voted Tuesday at Valley View Golf Course. John describes himself as a "proud Republican," saying "it's all about the economy." He is interested in both congressional and local races. He said he is worried about issues such as gas prices and student loan forgiveness.
"It is destroyed, and it needs to be fixed," he said. "I'd like to see more focus on rewarding people for hard work versus just handing out for the sake of handing out. Too much of the money that's taken in is just given away versus spent on things that help those who work hard for it."
On Tuesday, Lemon and Nathan Newby waited in line outside of the Floyd County 4-H Fairgrounds to cast their votes in the primary.
For Lemon, a big driving factor to get him out to the polls was the potential for Roe v. Wade to be overturned by the Supreme Court.
Not only would the decision affect reproduction rights, but he was also concerned about how the decision could negatively impact gay marriage in the country.
As New Albany resident Karen Davis voted Tuesday at the Floyd County 4-H Fairgrounds, she was there to uphold her right to vote as an American citizen, saying "she never wants Jan. 6 to happen ever again."
Davis, a Democrat, said the economy is one of her main concerns. She wants to see "more creative job creation" and "better wages for those workers who are not making a living wage," and she wants to "just get America back to where we all feel like we've got something that we can contribute."
"Indiana tends to go a direction I do not, but I'm here to just cast a vote because it's the right thing to do," she said.
TURNOUT
The polling location in Floyds Knobs at Valley View Golf Club saw many voters cast a ballot on Tuesday. From the time polling locations opened at 6 a.m. to a little after 3 p.m., poll worker Paige Lewis said they had seen almost 800 voters.
"They expected 150 [voters], so whoever estimated was way off," Lewis said.
Besides having voters wait out in the rain, Lewis said that things have run pretty smoothly.
"Because of the large numbers and the small room, we've had the line out the door," she said.
Poll worker Diane Schroeder said there was a "huge volume" of people at the Floyd County 4-H Fairgrounds, and just before 3 p.m., almost 800 people had voted.
Three additional voting machines were brought out to the fairgrounds to keep the line shorter, according to Schroeder. At one point, about 60 people were waiting in line outside.
The process was going smoothly as of mid-afternoon, and Schroeder notes that it was the first election with Floyd County's new voting machines. She has been working elections for 28 years, and Tuesday's turnout was bigger than usual, she said.
"I think it's a higher volume than anyone expected," she said.
Young people showed up to work the polls in Clark County on Tuesday.
Jeffersonville High School senior Mckenzie Murdoch said she signed up to work the polls through a program at her school.
She said she got to her location at First Presbyterian Church at 4:45 a.m. and part of the reason why she agreed to be a poll worker was because it looks good on her college applications and resume.
"I like the idea of politics, I like being knowledgeable about that stuff and a lot of stuff happening that can affect you," she said.
For her, part of being a poll worker was attending a training to learn about the job.
"Now that our younger generation is coming up, we are going to be the voice and I think that it's important with a lot of things going on today," she said.
In Clark County, young people showed up to work the polls on Tuesday.
In Charlestown at the Clark County Fair Grounds, Presentation Academy Senior Sicilia Giacalone said she just turned 18-years-old and voted early.
She said she became a poll worker to get involved, and she hopes it helps her in a future career.
"As a person, to get involved in this process is our right," she said.
Giacalone plans to use what she's learned as a poll worker after she graduates.
"After graduating I'm going to Indiana University Bloomington for political science and after that, I'd like to go to law school to get my law degree," she said.
Recent college graduate Elizabeth Leis was also working at the polling location.
"I started in the primary of 2020 and general election of 2020 and I thought it was important and something I could do to serve my country," she said.
News and Tribune reporters Makenna Hall and Libby Cunningham contributed to this story.
