The much anticipated 2016 General Election is none too soon upon us and those voters who wish to cast their ballots and have not taken part in the record number of early voting will be headed to the polls throughout the day.
Polls opened at 6 o’clock this morning and will remain so till 6 this evening and voters will have plenty of choices in a large number of contested races from the national all the way down to the local level.
Local voters will help select the 45th president of the United States as Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton will square off against republican Donald Trump and libertarian Gary Johnson.
Statewide races include the office of Governor as republican incumbant Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb will battle with democrate John Gregg and libertarian Rex Bell.
Gregg lost in his bid for the state’s top office back in 2012 to current governor Mike Pence who dropped out of the race back in July after he was picked as Trump’s running mate for the White House.
Other Statewide races include Democrat and former Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, republican Todd Young and libertarian Lucy Brenton’s battle for the United States Senate seat held by the retiring Dan Coats.
The office of Attorney General by democrat Lorenzo Arredondo and Republican Curtis Hill.
The race for the office for Superintendent of Public Instruction is up for grabs as Democrat incumbant Glenda Ritz will face a challenge by Republican nominee Jennifer McCormick.
And Republican incumbant Larry Buschon must fight off a challenge from democrat Ron Drake and libertarian Andrew Horning for the 8th district congressional seat in the US House of representatives.
In contested races of a more local capacity:
Both local incumbant state representatives will have to fend off challenges if they are to serve another two years at the statehouse.
In District 63 current republican representative Mike Braun will face off with democrat newcomer Andrea Hulsman while in District 74, Lloyd Arnold seeks told hold off a challenge from democrat Larry Kleeman.
Other contested races include:
The office of Dubois County Treasurer which pits democrat Sheryl Sendelweck versus republican Kitty Merkley.
A pair of seats on the Dubois County Board of Commissioners as democrat Gary Eck and republican Chad Blessinger seek the District 1 seat being vacated by longtime commissioner Larry Vollmer.
And the Distrct 3 seat as democrat incumbant Randy Fleck is looking to battle republican and current Dubois County Council member Nick Hostetter.
Speaking of the county council, voters will be able to pick three of the six candidates vying for seats on the Dubois Council.
They include democrat and council president Greg Kendall, fellow democrats Barbara Mathies and Martha Wehr. And republicans Doug Uebelhor, Michael Kluesner and Sonya Haas.
There are a pair of contested races on two of the county’s school boards as Mark Kunkel and Tim Demotte look to join the Greater Jasper School Board and replace longtime member and president Nancy Habig who chose not to seek another term.
And in the Southwest Dubois District Jennifer Thacker will square off against Michael Broeker for the district 1 seat.
Many other county offices and school board seats are being uncontested this year.
And finally a pair of referendums will be voted on in Dubois County in which both have been pressing issues.
They include the Jasper Library Referendum which asks voters in all Bainbridge precincts, the Boone-Jasper precinct and the Madison-Jasper North and South precincts if the Jasper Public Library should issue bonds or enter into a lease to finance the construction of and improvements to a facility for use as the Jasper Public Library building, which is estimated to cost not more than 6 and a half million dollars and is estimated to increase the property tax rate for debt service by a maximum of nearly 6 cents per $100 of assessed value.
And a referendum within the Northeast Dubois School District which is included on the ballot for Columbia, Hall, Harbison and Marion townships.
It says for the 7 calendar years immediately following the holding of the referendum, should the Northeast Dubois County School Corporation impose a property tax rate that does not exceed 18 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation and that is in addition to all other property taxes imposed by the school corporation for the purpose of funding course options required for graduation, class sizes, extracurricular activities, and compensation for employees who provide educational programs.
