IN: 5-term congresswoman Carson runs into snag with voter ID law

KEN KUSMER
Associated Press

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/14480959.htm

Indiana's new voter-ID law had its first test Tuesday and ran into a snag moments after the polls opened when U.S. Rep. Julia Carson's congressional identification created confusion.

Carson's card does not have an expiration date as the new law requires of valid voter IDs, and Indianapolis poll workers tried to reach election officials before allowing the five-term Democratic congresswoman to cast her ballot shortly after her polling place opened at 6 a.m.

"The inspector just went ahead and made the decision that it was OK because he couldn't reach anybody to get authorization," Carson said later. And she reasoned the expiration date should not have been an issue: "It says for the 109th Congress, so that takes care of that."

Meanwhile, initial turnout was low, as expected. Not since 1996, a presidential election year, have more than 30 percent of Indiana's registered voters cast ballots in primaries. Turnout in Indiana's midterm primary in 2002 was 22 percent.

"It's looking like a typical primary election," A.J. Feeny-Ruiz, a spokesman for Secretary of State Todd Rokita, said about three hours into the voting.

Cars wet from a misty rain filled the parking lot of Public School 91 near the Indianapolis neighborhood of Broad Ripple, but poll workers said there was little traffic inside.

"It's always a slow turnout when it's raining outside," said Steve King, a poll worker.

Polls were to be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

There are some notable contests in the General Assembly, including the first primary challenge longtime GOP Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton of Columbus has faced since first being elected in 1970. Columbus accountant Greg Walker is trying to unseat Garton, who has led the Senate for a state record 26 years.

Political observers expect some competitive races, but the vast majority of legislative incumbents had no primary opponent, and most who did were expected to win.

Congressional incumbents were expected to dominate on Tuesday, although Republicans Mike Sodrel in the 9th District and John Hostettler in the 8th District could be vulnerable in the fall. Some politicos also say Republican Chris Chocola in the 2nd District could face a competitive challenge in November.

County and school board races are also on the primary ballot.

One of the questions going into the primary was whether voting problems would plague the election. Rokita said Friday that many service problems involving Omaha, Neb.-based Elections Systems and Software had been or were being fixed, but he filed a complaint against the company that supplies equipment to 27 counties. He alleged ES&S supplied defective services and machines and has set a hearing on the complaint for May 8.

Also Friday, the state gave last-minute certification to Indianapolis-based MicroVote General Corp., for new software it had installed without state approval in many of the 47 counties it serves. State election officials cited independent lab tests in saying they were confident the software and machines would work fine.

Because of the new voter ID law, Bureau of Motor Vehicles branches were open with extended hours Monday, a day they are usually closed. They were also to be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day to issue licenses and state IDs.

BMV spokesman Greg Cook said there was a steady flow of customers at many branches Monday, when the agency issued 962 new ID cards and 613 renewals, besides drivers' licenses. Those needing licenses or ID cards went to the front of the lines at licenses branches both Monday and Tuesday.

People without IDs can still cast provisional ballots and have them counted later if they acquire the IDs or licenses within 10 days and present them to county clerk's office.

Some counties headed into the election short of poll workers. Republicans were supposed to be in charge of all 914 precincts in Marion County, but as many as 250 could be run by Democrats because the GOP had not enlisted enough workers.

Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, said he had heard of shortages elsewhere, but did not believe they were worse than usual.

Vanderburgh County election officials said an unexplained glitch in the state's new voter registration system and a recent reconfiguration of the county's voting precincts could prove confusing. Some voters might go to the wrong polling places, or to the right ones where precinct workers only to find workers did not have their records, the Evansville Courier & Press reported Monday.

Despite the preprimary problems and new requirements, Rokita was optimistic the election would run relatively smoothly.

"What the election has to be is fair and accurate, I can't stress that enough, and I do believe we will have a fair and accurate election," he said Monday.

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Associated Press writers Mike Smith and Ashley M. Heher and photographer Michael Conroy in Indianapolis contributed to this report.