Tuesday is Election Day in Northwest Indiana and across the Hoosier State.Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for registered voters to choose the individuals they want to appear on the ticket of their preferred political party at the Nov. 5 general election.A number of key nominating contests are on the Democratic and Republican ballots, including U.S. Senate, Indiana governor, U.S. House, Indiana House and Senate, and multiple county government offices.Primary voters also will elect delegates to each political party's upcoming state convention that will pick the Republican and Democratic nominees for Indiana lieutenant governor and attorney general, as well as craft each party's platform on political issues.Voters living in Lake County can find their designated polling place and view a sample ballot by logging into their registration record at IndianaVoters.com.In Porter and LaPorte counties, registered voters can go to any of the more than three dozen polling sites in each county to mark their party's primary ballot following the switch to vote centers in place of precinct polling sites.A shared electronic voter check-in system used at each vote center ensures no voter casts more than one ballot.During the primary election, voters in all 92 Indiana counties must choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot, and only may vote for the nominees of one political party.All voters also are required to show photo identification to obtain a ballot on Election Day, according to Indiana law. Individuals must have registered to vote by April 8 to participate in the primary election.Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to issue new, amended, renewed or replacement driver's licenses and IDs for voting purposes. Appointments are not required for this service.Voters who previously requested and received a mail-in ballot must ensure it's returned to their county's elections office with an appropriate voter identification number or copy of their photo ID by 6 p.m. Tuesday for it to be counted.Alternatively, absentee voters who have not yet sent in their ballot can vote in person at their local polling place if they bring their mail-in ballot with them to be canceled, or sign a document affirming they never received the mail-in ballot they requested.All individuals lacking voter ID or experiencing any other difficulties at the polls can request to vote a provisional ballot and take steps to clear up their eligibility issues after Election Day by promptly contacting their county's elections office.Voters with complaints about polling place accessibility or wishing to report suspected fraud can call the Indiana secretary of state's office at 866-461-8683.News articles on the outcome of important state and local races, along with detailed election results, will be posted to nwi.com after the polls close Tuesday night.
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