With record turnout expected, coronavirus concerns and court challenges to voting laws, nobody knows what to expect on Election Day and the days to follow. The Indiana Daily Student will be there to cover this historic election. Here’s how we’ll keep you informed:
On Election Day
We’ll cover the election all day Tuesday. Join us on our election live blog page as our reporters bring you coverage from polling places across the city. We’re using this page to bring you up-to-the-minute updates on who is voting, any issues and alerts from the election office. We’ll also update the live blog after polls close at 6 p.m. and throughout the night.
If polling places in Monroe County stay open past 6 p.m. — like the Indiana Memorial Union did in 2018 — we’ll update you on idsnews.com and our social media. The Monroe County Election Board can request an extension of polling hours if issues arise.
If you run into problems voting, we want to hear from you. Send an email to newstip@idsnews.com or message us on Twitter.
How you can track election results
We’ll be publishing election results as they come in. Our homepage will have a map of election results in Indiana.
Since parts of Indiana are in the Central Time zone, the last polls are slated to close at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Indiana election officials do not have an estimate of when they expect results to come in, according to the New York Times. Officials said the speed will depend on the number of absentee ballots that must be counted.
According to the United States Election Project, 577,972 absentee ballots were requested in Indiana for the election. Nicole Browne, Monroe County’s election clerk, said the county could start counting absentee ballots as early as noon Nov. 3.
The IDS will call races based on the Associated Press’ determination of election winners, regardless of whether a candidate declares victory.
Our Thursday print paper
This semester, the IDS moved from printing our paper twice a week to once a week. All content for our Thursday print paper must be ready by Wednesday.
It’s possible we won’t know the winners of the elections the time we go to print. Of course, if we do know the winners of the election, we’ll publish the results in our print paper.
What you need to know before you vote
While more than 1.3 million Hoosiers have already voted, up to 2.7 million more people could still vote. If you haven’t voted yet, we have you covered. Here are links to our voter guides for races in Indiana:
Monroe County will have 28 polling places open Tuesday. Find which one you’ll vote at here.
You need a valid photo ID to vote in Indiana. If you’re affiliated with IU, your CrimsonCard will work.
Our reporters have also covered the candidates and issues defining this year’s local elections. Find all of our election coverage here.
If you plan to vote by mail and haven’t mailed in your ballot yet, it is too late to put it in the mail for the county election board to receive it, according to our analysis of mail delivery times. Instead, drop your ballot off at Monroe County Election Central. Absentee ballots must be received by noon Nov. 3.
