ANGOLA, Ind. (WLKI)- About six in 10 Steuben County voters whose ballots were included in the county's first election report opposed a proposed casino, while Republican Kelli Wilder Johnson took an early lead in the race for county auditor.
The county's report, issued shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, included 4,594 ballots: 4,159 cast during in-person early voting and 435 paper absentee ballots. None of the county's 23 precincts had reported Election Day results.
On the casino question, 2,685 voters, or about 61%, voted no. Another 1,747 voters, or about 39%, voted yes. The question drew 4,432 votes in the initial tally.
Johnson received 2,505 votes, or about 58%, in the county auditor's race. Democrat Alexis Huntley received 1,822 votes, or about 42%. In Pleasant Township, Republican Lesli Hall led Democrat Anita Sanborn for trustee, 53% to 47%.
Republican U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman led Democrat Kelly Thompson among the Steuben County ballots counted. Stutzman had 2,365 votes to Thompson's 2,055, a lead of 310 votes. The early districtwide tally showed Thompson ahead by 16 percentage points with an estimated 31% of the vote in.
In Indiana's other congressional races, Democrat Ford led Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz by 27 points in the 5th District with an estimated 31% of the vote in. Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Baird led Democrat Cox by 23 points in the 4th District with an estimated 5% in. The early tally showed no results in the 1st or 2nd districts.
Republicans held early statewide leads in the races for secretary of state, auditor and treasurer. Max Engling led Democrat Beau Bayh, 53% to 43%, for secretary of state. Elise Nieshalla led Democrat Jessica Bailey, 59% to 39%, for auditor, and Daniel Elliott led Democrat Coumba Kebe, 63% to 37%, for treasurer. The statewide tally showed an estimated 2% of the vote in for each race.
Both proposed amendments to the Indiana Constitution also drew majority support in the first Steuben County report. About 65% voted for an amendment that would allow bail to be denied if the state proves a person's release would pose a danger to another person or the community. About 67% backed a measure requiring city and town judges to live in the county where they serve or an adjoining county.
Statewide, the bail amendment had 63% support and the judicial residency amendment had 64%, with an estimated 1% of the vote in on each question. The early returns had yet to establish control of either chamber of the Indiana General Assembly.