Live Election Day 2023 results for Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

The 'yes' votes have it: Monroe County school referendum passes by slim margin

Election night speeches: New Bloomington mayor asks residents to 'make this place one that you're proud of'

8:45 p.m.: Last results for the night

Results are unofficial and do not include provisional ballots. Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne reported at 6 p.m. just four provisional ballots had been cast. A report from the Monroe County Clerk's Office indicates 91 voters failed to answer the MCCSC referendum question.

MCCSC referendum

Yes: 5,229 votes 50.52%

No: 5,121 votes 49.48%

Bloomington City Council District 3

Hopi Stosberg: 825 votes 82.5%

Brett Heinisch: 175 votes 17.5%

6 p.m.: Polls are closed

Check back. We will post results as soon as we get them.

4:30 p.m.: About 8,500 people have voted

About 5,600 people have voted at the polls today, meaning a total of 8,500 ballots have been cast including early voters.

At Eastview Church of The Nazarene, about 450 voters had cast ballots as of 4 p.m.

"It's been sort of a nice, slow pace," said Eva Csejtey, the polling site inspector.

"It's really been good, considering what's on the ballot," said Brad Mobley, a judge at the site.

Despite the lack of competition on the ballot, voters there said it's important to vote.

"I've never missed an opportunity to vote in my 77 years," said Lesley Levin, a retired social worker. "It's a privilege to be able to vote."

She said she also came to vote on the school referendum.

Monroe County Community School Corp. is asking voters to approve an $8.5 million tax increase to expand early childhood education within the public schools and with private providers.

Levin did not want to say how she voted but said she was guided in part by the U.S. Constitution's demand for separation of church and state.

MCCSC Superintendent Jeff Hauswald has said the district does not plan to partner with religious schools, but the administration has said that religious preschools can apply to partner with the school district to expand early childhood education.

From previous reporting: Can Monroe County school district funnel public money to private preschools?

Levin, who is Jewish and wore a kippah to the polling site, said she worried that her tax dollars would go to religious preschools.

Nathan Ensmenger said despite the lack of competition on the ballot he wanted to show support to the candidates who stepped up to run for office. In addition, he said it's important to build a habit of voting.

Ensmenger said he voted "yes" on the school referendum because he wanted to support local children and the community.

Dave Newsom, who works for Indiana University, said he voted "no" on the referendum, primarily because he wasn't interested in paying more taxes. The local cost of living has gone high enough, he said.

Newsom said the school district's lack of clarity on its recent plan to align high school schedules contributed to his voting against the referendum. The school board recently took steps to at least delay the plan.

Linda Perry said she voted for the referendum because she has grandchildren in school.

Perry said she was disappointed that no Republicans had stepped up to run in any of the races that were on her ballot. She said she never before had no Republicans to vote for.

3 p.m.: 3 hours until polls close

With just 3 hours left before polls close, Monroe County voters continued to come out to have their say. Nearly 5,000 people had checked in at polling sites around the county, with Eastview Church of The Nazarene having had more than 400 voters.

1:30 p.m.: Voter turnout continues to climb

As of 1:30, nearly 4,000 people had cast a ballot in what would otherwise be a lackluster election.

Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne reported two sites had seen more than 300 voters: Eastview Church of The Nazarene and Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.

Noon: Washington Township voters come out

By 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, poll workers at The Family Life Worship Center were surprised at the number of voters who had come to cast a ballot for or against a referendum to increase taxes for the Monroe County Community School Corp.

They had seen a steady stream of voters all morning. "At one point, we had a line of six," Washington Township poll inspector Susan Adam said. "We've had a lot more than we expected."

She said some voters weren't aware the polling site was open. "Some people said they drove by and saw the sign, so they pulled in," Adam said.

By 11:30, 123 people had cast ballots there.

9 a.m.: All early voting should be counted

According to Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne, there were no voters who cast an early ballot and "subsequently passed away" before today, which means that every ballot that was cast in the municipal election will count.

Browne said that as of 9:23 a.m., 1,574 voters have reported to a polling site and cast a ballot.

6 a.m.: Changes to voting at Bloomington High School South

At 6 a.m. Tuesday, there were only two people waiting for the doors to open for voting at Bloomington High School South, according to Kurt Seiffert, inspector. That was fewer than most elections, he said, and might be because the location for voting at the school was changed to the auxiliary gym (the White gym) on the other side of the school from the previous location for voting.

Seiffert said he learned of the change last week during training. People who tried to open the doors in the former location found them locked. A sign was posted that told voters to go to door 19 or 20 but didn't explain where that was. Seiffert was making changes to ensure people could find the proper doors.

"This is a better place for us, actually," he said while sitting at a table in the gym. "The atrium presented challenges" with so many ways for people to enter and exit. "This allows us more control. Notifying voters was the problem."

Seiffert said in the gym there was enough space to use tables instead of standing booths, which is easier to set up and observe. He was concerned that the handicap access to the gym was a little far from the voting area. But the ramps to the main gym do allow access.

The atrium and cafeteria area of the school were being used for a teachers training session. Vehicles were filling the parking area usually reserved for voters by 6:45 a.m.

With five precincts voting at Bloomington South, Seiffert said the voting location is one of the county's largest.

"If it would have been a regular election, not even a presidential election, we would have had at least a dozen people when we opened the doors," Seiffert said.

Early voting shows exceptional turnout

Before the polls opened this morning at 6 a.m., 2,894 voters in Monroe County already had cast ballots in what likely will be a quiet non-presidential-year election.

Larime Wilson, a deputy clerk for voter registration, reported that 2,555 early votes had been cast by the end of this past weekend. Another 339 people took advantage of early voting before it ended at noon Monday.

There's just one contested Bloomington city council race and no county offices on the ballot. In 2019, the last time municipal elections were held and no county offices were on the ballot, there were 409 early votes cast and 1,509 total votes.

Monroe County residents — except those in Richland and Bean Blossom townships — will see one item on their ballots. It's a yes-or-no decision regarding a proposed 8-year property tax increase presented as a public education referendum for people living within the Monroe County Community School Corp. boundaries.

The county has staffed all of the polling sites in the nine townships in MCCSC's district: Benton, Bloomington, Clear Creek, Indian Creek, Perry, Polk, Salt Creek, Van Buren and Washington townships. Bloomington residents will vote on the referendum as well.

Who is on the ballot?

On this year's ballot are city offices including mayor and several city council seats and a Monroe County Community Schools Corp. referendum. The only contested race is for City Council District 3, in which voters will choose between Democratic primary winner Hopi Stosberg and Republican candidate Brett Heinisch.

Other offices appearing on the ballot are Bloomington mayor, city clerk, three at-large seats and districts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 on the city council.

This year's election: Bloomington voters to pick new mayor, council Tuesday, but biggest choice will be schools

Where do I vote?

Hoosiers can find their polling place by visiting the state's voter portal at indianavoters.in.gov.

Once on the site, find your polling location by doing a search of either of your personal voter registration information or the county and precinct.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County, Bloomington 2023 election results