Porter County Officials Ask FBI To Investigate Election Day Problems, With Results Still Not In
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Porter County officials have asked the FBI to investigate possible wrongdoing, after a series of problems on Election Day led to massive delays in ballot counting.
More than a day after polls closed in Porter County, there are still no election results.
Election workers said polls were understaffed, and absentee ballots were not delivered to polling places on time. At least a dozen polling places did not open on time, and some remained closed for 2 ½ hours.
Numerous people who have worked on Porter County elections for the past few decades have said Tuesday's election was the worst they have ever seen.
Voters and poll workers on both sides blamed the County Clerk's office and Clerk Karen Martin, who recently gained authority of elections in the county.
"I don't know how much of it comes down to malice versus incompetence versus just unpreparedness," Vice Chair of the Valparaiso Democratic Committee, Shawn Barnes said.
CBS 2 tried to track Martin down on Wednesday, but she reportedly did not show up to work.
"To see that kind of breakdown at a local level is really disconcerting," poll worker Kathy Sipple said. "I think [it] could have long-term consequences to just turn people off from voting, which I think would be the absolute worst thing that could happen from all of this."
Results from Porter County likely won't be available until Thursday at the earliest.