Oct 22, 2008 6:24 pm US/Central
Judge Keeps Early Voting Centers Open In NW Ind.
Ruling Could Be Boon For Barack Obama In A Battleground State
GARY, Ind. (CBS) ―
A judge has ruled that early voting centers in northwest Indiana will remain open.
Local Republicans had alleged that setting up different satellite voting locations in Gary, East Chicago, Hammond and Crown Point is illegal. The GOP also claimed the system invites both fraud and phony registrations.
Democrats say the Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minority voters in a state that Barack Obama has a chance to win.
In her ruling, Judge Diane Kavadias-Schneider said if the sites in Hammond, East Chicago and Gary were shut down, "citizens there would be the only voters in Indiana who would not be able to vote at a courthouse located in their city of residence."
And the judge pointed out that many minorities don't have the time or transportation to travel to the county's only other early voting site, the courthouse in Crown Point.
Still, because there are only two voting machines at each of the satellite locations, voters are enduring long, long waits.
"I been here about 2 hours and i ain't got up to vote yet," Frank Bell said.
But, he and others in northwest Indiana are determined. Despite those long waits, latest figures show almost 2,000 voters have cast ballots in Gary, East Chicago and Hammond.
Lake County Republicans are studying the court decision. They haven't ruled out an appeal.
(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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