The plot shows the numerical margin in each precinct of the winning candidate, compared to second place. For example, if the margin of the winning candidate in a precinct was 17, then 17 dots of that candidate’s color were randomly plotted inside the precinct. If two candidates tied for the largest number of votes, no dots were plotted.
The plot shows the numerical margin in each precinct of the winning candidate, compared to second place. For example, if the margin of the winning candidate in a precinct was 17, then 17 dots of that candidate’s color were randomly plotted inside the precinct. If two candidates tied for the largest number of votes, no dots were plotted.
In Tuesday’s Democratic Party’s primary to select one nominee for each of two county commissioner seats, two slates formed across the two positions, which among other things shared financial resources, by sending out joint mailings.
It was hardly a surprise that the two incumbents—Penny Githens (District 2) and Julie Thomas (District 3)—worked together.
The unofficial tallies for Monroe County voting in the Tuesday, May 7 primary elections made for the following outcomes in contested local races for respective party nominations:
Incumbent Democrat Julie Thomas over Peter Iversen for District 2 county commissioner;
Democrat Jody Madeira over Steve Volan and incumbent Penny Githens for District 3 county commissioner;
Incumbent Democrats Trent Deckard and Cheryl Munson ahead of David Henry and Matt Caldie for the three at-large county council seats, with Henry slightly better than Caldie; and
Republican Joe Van Deventer over Paul White, Sr. for District 3 county commissioner.
Primary Election Day polls for May 7, 2024 have now closed in Monroe County.
The cutoff time was 6 p.m., which made for a 12-hour voting day. But anyone in line by 6 p.m. has to be allowed to cast a ballot.
Voters who joined the line just before the closing of the polls are just one reason that results can’t be reported immediately at 6 p.m.
Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne typically cautions against expecting any results before 7 p.m. The earliest votes that will be reported are from in-person early voting and mailed-in absentee ballots.
The B Square will add to this article with time-stamped updates from Election Central until the final unofficial results are in, or otherwise indicated here.
[Updated 8:25 p.m. May 7, 2024. The unofficial winners of the contested local races for respective party nominations: Democrat Jody Madeira for District 3 county commissioner; Democrat Julie Thomas for District 2 county commissioner; Democrats Trent Deckard, Cheryl Munson, and David Henry for at-large county council. And Republican Joe Van Deventer for District 3 county commissioner.] Continue reading “Alea iacta est: May 7, 2024 primary election results, served when ready”→
Election Central processing of early in-person and mailed-in absentee ballots. (May 7, 2024)
Monroe County election board from left: Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne; Judith Benckart; and John Fernandez. (May 7, 2024)
Election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets. (May 7, 2024)
The polls at Monroe County’s election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets opened Tuesday morning, when election site inspector Maqubè Reese gave the official announcement: “The polls are open!”
Audio: “The polls are open!”
The announcement is not just for fun. It’s a requirement of state election law, which says the announcement about the start of voting must be made “in a loud tone of voice” to “the people outside the polls.”
A technical glitch prevented opening of the polls at 6 a.m. sharp. The code that was supposed to open the scanner for processing ballots did not work, and it took several minutes for that issue to get sorted out.
Even though the announcement from Reese came at 6:15 a.m., there were no voters queued up waiting—the first voter did not arrive until a few minutes after Reese gave the announcement.
The only “people outside the polls” when Reese gave the official opening announcement were The B Square and Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry, who is running for one of the three at-large county council seats. He’s competing with Matt Caldie, Trent Deckard, and Cheryl Munson for one of the three nominations from the Democratic Party.
These are the lanyards for Monroe County election board members: Nicole Browne, Judith Benckart, and John Fernandez.
Election Central at 7th and Madison streets is set up to process mailed-in and early in-person ballots.
Chart of the early in-person voting totals for the 2024 primary election in Monroe County.
On Monday night, a red-tailed hawk kept watch over Monroe County’s Election Central from the antenna on top of the justice center at 7th Street and College Avenue.
On Monday night, campaign yard signs at Fairview Elementary School were guarded by the Joe LaMantia’s Aristicat.
Campaign yard signs at Monroe County’s election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets.
By around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night, all but three of the 29 polling locations for Primary Election Day on May 7 had checked in with Monroe County election division staff at Election Central to confirm they were set for the next day’s voting.
Election Central is the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.
Early in-peson voting counts for Monroe County through May 3, 2024.
Whiteboard at Monroe County Election Central at Madison and 7th Streets. (May 3, 2024)
With two days of in-person early voting left, around 3,800 Monroe County residents have cast an in-person ballot in the May 7 primary election.
That’s based on the day-by-day tallies of voter numbers posted on the wall of the election operations building (aka the old NAPA Auto Parts Store) at 3rd and Walnut streets and a partial total through the day on Friday (May 3).
Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté. (April 30, 2024)
From left: Lee Jones, Julie Thomas, Penny Githens. (April 29, 2024)
Monroe County should build a new jail with 450 to 500 beds, according to a report prepared by RQAW Corporation, out of Fishers, Indiana.
The report recommends against renovating the existing facility at 7th Street and College Avenue, which has a total of 287 beds.
The estimated hard cost of a new facility, according to RQAW, is around $76 million, with additional costs like design and construction contingencies, and fixtures and furnishings, bringing the total cost to around $99 million. That’s not an estimate for a “co-located” justice center that would include space for all the courts, prosecutor, public defender, probation, and other support services.
On Saturday, several more demonstrators were arrested in Dunn Meadow on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus, as a part of their ongoing demonstration in support of Gaza.
On Thursday, 33 people were arrested by state police. On both days, the stated objective of the law enforcement action was to remove the tents that activists had set up as a part of their demonstration.
From left: Kristen Weida, Joe Van Deventer, and Paul White, Sr.
At a Wednesday afternoon forum hosted by the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation at the Monroe Convention center, three rounds of county commissioner candidates from both major parties fielded questions from a moderator and the audience.
That included the two Republican candidates for the party’s District 3 county commissioner nomination.
All registered voters in the county can cast a ballot in a District 3 race. The geographic districts for county commissioners are used only to define the area of the county where candidates have to live.
Harrodsburg Heritage Festival organizer Paul Strain and Monroe County commissioners administrator Angie Purdie. (April 23, 2024)
Monroe County councilors Cheryl Munson and Geoff McKim (April 23, 2024)
Monroe County council from near to far: Peter Iverson, Kate Wiltz, Jennifer Crossley, Trent Deckard, Geoff McKim, Cheryl Munson, and Marty Hawk. (April 23, 2024)
Panorama of convention center looking to the southwest as seen in August of 2022.
A $6,000 appropriation from food and beverage tax receipts, to pay for a Harrodsburg Heritage Festival fireworks display, was approved on Tuesday night by Monroe County’s council.
The vote was not unanimous.
Dissenting was Geoff McKim, who said he knew it would amount to a symbolic gesture. Still, McKim wanted to establish that he would not support uses of the food and beverage tax for purposes other than the convention center expansion—until it is clear that revenues from the tax will be adequate to pay for the convention center project.
McKim and Cheryl Munson are the only two members still serving on the seven-member county council who in late 2017 voted in favor of imposing the 1-percent tax on all prepared food and beverages sold in the county.
On Wednesday morning in related convention center news, Monroe County commissioners approved the content of a letter to Monroe County’s capital improvement board (CIB) about county-owned real estate near the existing convention center at 3rd Street and College Avenue.
The letter says: “It has always been the Board of Commissioners’ intent to provide all necessary property that it owns or controls to the Capital Improvement Board for no compensation.”
