Primary Election Day 2023 live updates: Final results for the night are in

The primary election for voters in Bloomington and Ellettsville will be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. We'll provide updates throughout the day.

8:15 p.m.: Final results for the evening

Results are preliminary. These numbers are the last update.

5:30 p.m.: Turnout surpasses 11,000; voters reference public transit, infrastructure

As of 5 p.m. today, 4,133 voters have turned out to the polls on Election Day, adding to the pile of 7,336 early voters.

Inspector Ron Andrews said Election Operations, one of the most popular polling sites, has had "a steady stream" of voters all day, including a bus-load of Meadowood residents.

Clayton Lewis, who works in information technology at Indiana University's Kelley School, hasn't always been an active voter but has made an effort to participate in local elections in recent years. He used voting information tool Vote 411 to research and determine which local candidates aligned most with his interests, landing on Don Griffin Jr. for mayor and Isabel Piedmont-Smith for his city council representative. As a landlord who often bikes to work on IU's campus, Lewis said city officials could better support affordable housing and better public transit options.

Pamela Ladd, owner of Blast Off Balloons on Kirkwood Avenue, has lived in the city since 1968. As someone who makes frequent deliveries, she wants to see better planned and maintained public infrastructure, such as roadways and sidewalks, from her city leaders. She also thinks public infrastructure that isn't so visible, such as the sewer and drainage system, should be given more attention. Ladd voted for mayoral candidate Susan Sandberg, saying she connects most with her stance on policies.

Sandberg has said she’d like to stop the annexation process altogether and eventually expand the city’s borders in smaller increments. While noting she doesn't have a strong opinion on annexation, Ladd agrees.

"It doesn't really matter to me that much, but the neighbors who live there are against it, so I'm with them," Ladd said.

3 p.m.: Stinesville candidate misses re-election filing deadline

Because there are no contested races, there's no primary election in the town of Stinesville this year.That doesn't mean the political landscape in the Monroe County town of 200 residents will remain unchanged. And it could be altered a lot if any Republicans come forth for the November election.

As it stands, current town council member Scott McGlocklin, a Democrat, filed for re-election to the three-member board. Town resident Richard Carter also filed a candidacy. Both men will be on the council in January, unless Republican candidates are slated in the November election and win.

Current council member Kimberly Cunningham, a Democrat, missed the candidate filing deadline for re-election. McGlocklin said if no candidates come forward to seek the seat in the fall, it's likely the county Democratic Party chairperson will appoint Cunningham to the council.

McGlocklin's daughter, Democrat Kelsey McGlocklin, is currently a council member who didn't seek re-election because she will be moving away from Stinesville for two years. Longtime Republican clerk-treasurer Lois Pursell, nearly 80 years old, had intended to retire from politics at the end of 2023 and did not seek re-election.

But since no one filed for the position she's held for 30 years, she will keep at it if reappointed by the local Republican Party. Pursell has been clerk-treasurer since stepping in when the previous clerk became ill in 1992.

“I keep threatening to go door to door to find someone to run against me,” she said during a swearing-in ceremony in 2016. “But really, I just love our town and the people want me to keep doing the job.”

2:30 p.m.: Turnout surpasses 6,000; voters mention housing, inequality

As of 2 p.m., 6,040 voters had cast ballots, with 2,837 of the votes having been cast today, according to the clerk’s office. Monroe County Clerk Nicole Browne said the oldest voter, so far, was 99.

As of 12:40 p.m., 257 people had cast ballots at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.

“I think the turnout is pretty good,” said Jan Tyra, election site inspector.

Voter Kara Winkler, a Bloomington mother of three, said she always votes and was particularly worried about housing affordability this time. Winkler, who lives with her husband and 18-year-old daughter in a detached single-family home, referenced her two other children in their 20s. According to Winkler, young people, even those with a college education and good job, can sometimes not easily afford the local cost of living.

Fred Cate, an IU law professor, said while the city is dealing with a lot of important issues, this year was not a single-issue election, which made him focus more on the candidates themselves.

“I worry about their overall judgment,” Cate said.

He said he looked for candidates with “solid, rational leadership” capabilities. The mayoral candidates especially, he said, were not far apart — or clear — on their positions. Cate said he votes in every election.

“You don’t get to complain if you don’t vote,” he said.

Andrea Basile said she voted primarily to support candidates who showed an understanding of and interest in addressing racial and LGBTQIA inequality.

“I feel like we don’t have a lot of representation for people of color and people in the queer community,” she said. “I feel like we can do better.”

Basile, who formerly worked for Centerstone, said she believes the community should spend fewer resources on policing and more on services for people who are dealing with mental health issues and/or homelessness. Police are needed in the community, she said, but the lack of resources for mental health or housing means police often have to respond to problems they are ill-equipped to handle.

Basile said she voted for Jonas Schrodt and Isak Asare for city council at-large seats and Don Griffin Jr. for mayor.

Bloomington native Noah Turner also said he voted for Griffin Jr. The IU senior and political science major said he believes the city should try to make cycling safer in a more effective manner without making driving in the city more cumbersome. He said he dislikes the city’s recent reduction of intersections where drivers can turn on red.

12:30 p.m.: 'Wait times are shorter,' clerk encourages voting

As of noon today, 2,057 voters have cast those ballots at designated polling sites. This brings the total number of casted ballots to 5,260.

The three busiest polling sites have been Bloomington High School South, Sherwood Oaks Christian Church and Election Operations. The least busiest sites are Arlington Heights Elementary School, Indiana Memorial Union and Highland Park Elementary School.

In an email to media and other personnel, Browne noted this election has been running very smoothly, with less voter questions and confusion reported by election workers. Browne credits this to voter education efforts and media outreach.

With polls closing at 6 p.m., Browne continues to encourage people to take a few minutes out of their day and visit their designated polling place to vote.

"Wait times are shorter and the ballot is smaller," Browne wrote in the email.

11:30 a.m.: Close to 5,000 have voted

By 11 a.m., close to 5,000 people have voted in the Bloomington primary, according to Browne. That number includes both people who voted before Tuesday (4,861) and Election Day, 1,658 so far.

"We'll hit 5,000 ... but we can do better," Browne wrote in an email.

10:30 a.m.: Number of morning voters increases

Browne reported 1,200 voters had cast ballots in the Bloomington municipal primary election between when the polls opened at 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.

8:30 a.m.: Bloomington South High polling location sees most early morning voters

By 8 a.m., 387 voters had visited Bloomington polling sites, according to Browne. Bloomington South High School had the most with 48 voters and the Indiana Memorial Union had the fewest with just one.

6:15 a.m.: Voting underway

Kurt Seiffert, inspector at the Bloomington High School South polling site, had a smile on his face early Tuesday because a stream of people were coming to vote, something that doesn't happen for many of the primary elections Seiffert has worked

"We had one person in line when we opened the polls," he said, adding it was unexpected.

He believes the mayoral race is why there is more interest for this primary, adding he's noticed more signs for the various candidates around the city.

Only a Democratic ballot is available at Bloomington South, where voters in five precincts are casting their ballots. Only eight of the Bloomington precincts have Republican ballots for this election, Seiffert said. In all, there are about 43 precincts voting in this election.

6 a.m.: Polls open in Bloomington, Ellettsville

Polling places in Bloomington and Ellettsville will be open today from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Need a refresher on who is running? Check out our guides linked below.

More: What you need to know before you vote in Bloomington's primary election

Primary preview: 3-way race for mayor, incumbent clash, big shift for city council

Early voting numbers surpass 2019 turnout in primary

In a sharp uptick from the last municipal primary elections, Monroe County voters who live in Bloomington and Ellettsville turned out for early voting to have their say in city politics.

More: What you need to know before you vote in Bloomington's primary election

Early voting began in early April and officially ended at noon yesterday. In this primary election, a little over 3,530 early ballots have been cast ahead of Election Day, a 72% increase from election officials' benchmark expectations. While the majority of absentee ballots were cast in-person, some were cast via mail, travel board — which is when a ballot is hand-delivered to voters who are confined in their homes because of illness, injury or disabilities — or electronically from overseas.

In 2019, the last primary election with mayoral and city council races, early voting turnout was around 2,050 ballots in total.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington Indiana primary election 2023: Live updates from the polls