What to know before election day | Inside the 1st District

Kaitlin Lange, Indianapolis Star
·4 min read
A voter heads into the polling location at Roy G. Holland Park, Fishers, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, less than a week from Indiana primary election day. About 20 people came in during the first half hour, and workers there said interest is picking up prior to May 3.
A voter heads into the polling location at Roy G. Holland Park, Fishers, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, less than a week from Indiana primary election day. About 20 people came in during the first half hour, and workers there said interest is picking up prior to May 3.

Election day is almost here.

We get that the midterms can be less exciting than a presidential year, but that doesn't mean this election isn't important. Want to know which races we're keeping an eye on? We compiled some of the more important ones for you. Check back at IndyStar.com for election results on May 3.

Early voter turnout is down, but that's fairly standard for a midterm election year. As of Tuesday morning, 77,425 ballots had been received statewide. In 2018, the last midterm election, 171,926 people voted early. Here's where you can vote early if you live in Hamilton or Marion Counties.

And you can check your election day voting location here: https://indianavoters.in.gov/

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Republican supermajority could become more conservative

If you need a reason to vote Tuesday: more Republican lawmakers at the Statehouse will face a primary challenger on the May ballot than have in at least the past decade. Most of them are House lawmakers being challenged from the far right.

In a state where primaries can often matter more than the general election, the outcome of Tuesday's election could determine how much control the state's most conservative lawmakers have in the policy-making process.

The House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), led by House Speaker Todd Huston and other Republican leadership, has spent more than $1.2 million this year alone in order to back candidates in the primary election.

Inside the 1st Congressional District primary

We know the 1st Congressional District has been Democratic bastion for nearly a century, but Republicans think they have a shot at flipping it. They just have to get through the primary first.

Seven Republicans filed to run in the Republican primary, hoping to oust freshman Democratic Rep. Jennifer Ruth-Green and Blair Milo have emerged as the front runners, and both candidates have gone negative in the last weeks of the primary election cycle with ads focused on what makes a true conservative.

We took a deep dive into the primary race.

Rokita sues Black Lives Matter

Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing the global chapter of Black Lives Matter, two months after launching an investigation into how the civil rights organization was using donations from Hoosiers.

Rokita's office claimed Black Lives Matter published a report in 2020 that said it had raised more than $90 million. But Rokita's office said an IRS filing from the organization for the first half of that year described zero revenue, expenses and assets.

The attorney general wants to "ensure transparency to donors" by verifying that "funds donated by Indiana residents are used for their intended purpose and not for the personal benefit of BLM directors," according to the news release.

Retiring budget director campaign is missing money

The lawmaker who has been tasked with leading the Indiana House's budget committee and crafting the multi-billion dollar state budget can't account for $30,000 not in his campaign bank account.

According to Rep. Tim Brown's final campaign finance report, the Crawfordsville Republican's campaign gave the retiring lawmaker $29,995 from his campaign account. But Brown said he didn't actually receive that payment. His campaign account was short $30,000 due to what he blames on an accounting error that occurred some time in the past.

BMV head steps down early

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Peter Lacy was poised to step down in late May. But this week he abruptly resigned.

"Peter Lacy notified the governor of his resignation effective immediately," said Erin Murphy, a spokeswoman for Gov. Eric Holcomb, in an emailed response to IndyStar's inquiries about Lacy's sudden exit.

She would not provide any additional information about his sudden departure.

Candidate with ties to troubled casino is running

House District 25, which includes parts of Boone and Hendricks counties doesn't feature an incumbent, leaving four Republicans to fight for the seat. That includes former state representative Matthew Whetstone, who faces a number of questions about his work for a casino company where a top former executive pleaded guilty.

The former state representative resigned in 2007 to become a lobbyist, then returned to the Statehouse as parliamentarian for then-House Speaker Brian Bosma in 2013, only to leave in 2015 to create his own lobbying firm.

What else is on the ballot: school referenda

Aside from voting on candidates, Hoosiers who live in eight school districts across the state will have to decide whether to increase their property taxes in order to generate more education funding when heading to the polls on Tuesday.

In Perry Township, voters are being asked to renew an existing operating referendum, which means if approved, tax rates would stay the same. In Franklin Township, the monthly taxes for the average Franklin Township home would increase by a little less than $20 in order to fund an addition and renovations to the district's aging high school.

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Hoosier Politics is compiled and written by the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing Kaitlin.Lange@IndyStar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What to know before election day| Inside the 1st District