ROCKVILLE — A new voting system, fewer polling sites and long lines plagued the Parke County voters and officials Tuesday.
As of 9:45 p.m., candidates, supporters and interested citizens continued to wait for results — any results — in the courtroom of the Parke County Courthouse.
One voter, Judy Estell, reported that she waited two hours to vote. Two of the machines in her polling place had broken down, she said.
Once she did get to vote, she said she liked the new touch screen voting system being used for the first time in Parke County.
County Clerk Sue Ann Woody acknowledged that some voting machines hadn’t been working, but she declined further comment.
Another voter, April Bonomo, said it took her 45 minutes to vote from start to finish and when she left her voting place at the fairgrounds, there was still a long line of people waiting to vote.
Despite the line, people were willing to stay and exercise their right to vote, Bonomo said.
Among the races generating a lot of interest was the sheriff’s race, with four candidates in the Republican primary and two on the Democratic ticket.
While no vote totals were available from the clerk’s office late Tuesday evening, Michael Eslinger was the winner in the sheriff’s Republican primary, according to Mary Alice Gregg, Parke Democratic Party chairwoman.
Eslinger had more votes than three other candidates: Terry Conrad, Randel G. Kneeland and Eddie McHargue. Kneeland is a deputy sheriff and McHargue is the chief deputy sheriff.
Eslinger previously served as sheriff from 1979 to 1986 and was an Indiana State Police officer for 10 years. He currently is executive director of the Indiana Sheriff’s Association.
“I started my career here and I’d like to end it here,” Eslinger said earlier in the evening, although he could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Other races of interest included the prosecutor, with incumbent Steve Cvengros defeated Michael Stites in the Republican primary. Stites is the grandson of former Circuit Court Judge Earl Dowd.
In the prosecutor’s race on the Democratic side, Gary Cooper defeated Leah Castetter.
In the Parke County Commissioner District 3 race, incumbent Jim Meece won over challenger Charles Bollinger, the current Parke County sheriff who could not seek re-election as sheriff because of term limits.
Meece, 57, is seeking his second term as commissioner. He teaches economics and government at Turkey Run High School.
“I think we’ve come a long way in making changes that improve life for everyone in Parke County,” Meece said earlier Tuesday. “I’d like to see that continue.”
Commenting on how the election went, Gregg said, “On one hand I feel sorry for the clerk. I know she had a lot on her shoulders and a lot of turnover” with a new voting system and new polling sites.
“It’s too bad the equipment was an issue today. I think a lot of people didn’t vote because of it,” Gregg said.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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