Dubois County hits the polls hard; Eck picked over Vollmer

Voters in line at the Huntingburg Event Center Tuesday morning. The line to the polls sometimes stretched out the door at the center.

In a national Primary Election that has several stigmatizing characters, Dubois County voters turned out in droves to cast their ballots.

Overall, Dubois County had over 43 percent of registered voters, or 12,998 of 30,003 voters, reporting to the 12 polling locations in the county. While some, like the Huntingburg Event Center and Jasper Middle School, reported record numbers and long lines, other polling locations said traffic was only slightly higher.

By the end of the day, long lines had formed at the Huntingburg Event Center with some reporting a 40 minute wait to vote.

ulie Colvin of Huntingburg held her daughter Corrina, 3, as she voted today at the Huntingburg Event Center. Corrina's twin sister, Annabelle, was voting with her father, Josh, at a nearby booth. — Julie Colvin of Huntingburg held her daughter Corrina, 3, as she voted today at the Huntingburg Event Center. Corrina’s twin sister, Annabelle, was voting with her father, Josh, at a nearby booth.

The last time voter turnout was nearly this heavy was in 2008 when over 40 percent of registered voters came out. In 2012, that dropped to 19 percent.

Besides the long lines and extended waits the large turnout created, a few hiccups were reported during the election. At the Huntingburg Event Center, Cass 2 was not loaded into the Microvote machines. According to David Drake, inspector at the center, this caused them to have to file eight paper ballots until the situation was remedied.

At the Birdseye polling location, deputies were called out when a misunderstanding over voter registration became heated.

During the day, poll workers repeatedly explained to voters the reason they had to declare a party. Many misunderstood they were choosing a candidate for the party they supported. Voters were required to declare their party so those candidates would be available for them to choose on the machines. Through the vote, the delegates are supposed to caucus and choose the popular candidate to represent the party in the upcoming national election.

Larry Feldmeyer checked Joe McLemore in so he could vote in the primary.

Although the national candidates drove people to the polls, locally, Democrats chose Gary Eck over incumbent Larry Vollmer as their candidate for the District 1 commissioner’s seat in the November election. Eck will face Republican Chad Blessinger who is currently serving as the county’s treasurer.

Eck owns Eck-Mundy Associates, a local tech firm that supplies computer hardware and software as well as networking services for businesses. Eck cofounded the business in 1993

Eck attributed his win to the extensive canvassing his team conducted leading up to the primary. “I think we got through about half of Ferdinand, a quarter of Huntingburg and maybe 25 to 30 percent of Jasper,” he explained. “I think that was the key [in the win].”

During the canvassing he learned that many people were ready for some new blood in the commissioner seat. “I think being a new voice was important in the win also,” he said.

Over the summer he plans on researching and learning more of responsibilities and role of a commissioner in the county management to be better prepared for the November election.

“I am interested in learning more about tax increment finance and how that impacts the county,” he said while acknowledging his business experience will make the operational aspect of county government an easier fit. “I have to get up to speed on government finances.”

Eck said he was glad the primary was behind him; his daughter is due to give birth May 9.

Vollmer said although he was disappointed in losing, he understood that the voters want to see some new faces in local government.

“He [Eck] will do a good job and I wish him the best,” Vollmer said. “But it is human nature to want to win.”

Vollmer said he was proud of his 16 years as a county commissioner and mentioned the recent communications upgrade and the creation of the community corrections as two projects he was especially proud of being involved in.

“We saved the county millions of dollars in creating the community corrections,” Vollmer said. “This communication upgrade is a big project I pushed. I want to thank the two commissioners and council in supporting it because it was something that needed to be done.”

Vollmer still operates the family farm in Ireland with his son but after finishing his term, Vollmer said he and his wife, Mary, plan on doing some traveling.

He isn’t sure about whether he will ever return to politics but explained that after 16 years, he will miss the people he worked with in the county.

“I think I am about burned out on politics,” Vollmer said. “There are younger people that can step up to those offices.”