INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Indiana Court of Appeals is expected to rule in an early voting dispute out of Lake County. The court's decision might affect the upcoming election.
Each side got only 30 minutes before a panel of three judges from the Indiana Court of Appeals. Attorneys were frequently interrupted with judges' questions.
"What's at stake in this case is what you apply the public interest questions to, is it not?" Judge Edward Najem asked Karl Mulvaney, attorney for the plaintiffs.
"Equity follows the law. All the points you're talking about might be a good reason or it might not be a good reason, whatever. Those decisions follow the law established by the General Assembly," responded Mulvaney.
The debate comes from a part of Indiana Code regarding absentee voting in front of a voter board or county clerk. In Lake County it's the Board of Elections that matters and that's in Crown Point. But early voting continues to go on at branches of the clerk's office in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago.
Democrats said the early voting should be allowed because it promotes voting opportunities. Republicans said the three voting centers were not opened in accordance with Indiana law and they leave open possible fraud. They want the court to shut them down.
Jonathan Weissglass, an attorney out of San Francisco, said he spoke on behalf of voters in Lake County who, without the opportunity to vote in person before November 4, might otherwise miss out.
"It's another thing that crosses the line to try to prevent people from voting for a candidate you don't like. I'm here for voters and representatives of voters who want voting," said Weissglass.
The judges expect a ruling very soon.
What happens in Lake County is important to the presidential candidates. The WISH-TV Indiana Poll has the race tied and there are hundreds of thousands of registered voters in Lake County. The area tends to favor Democrats.
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