The split ticket voting I heard about this morning in Franklin Township was true.  With 24 of 25 precincts reporting in the referendum is losing by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

The first question is losing 2015 for, 4544 against.  The second question 2017 in favor, 4054 against.

The Wishard referendum is wining by a 24,000 vote margin.

Perry Township is virtually tied with 69 votes making the difference.

Beech Grove is ahead 1187-688 with 9 of 10 precincts reporting.

Full analysis in the morning, I promise.

Wishard referendum proponents declare victory.  Franklin Township is losing badly.

Still waiting for official results but Wishard winning 8-1. Beech Grove winning 2-1, Franklin is losing 5-1, Perry too close to call.

Franklin – 25

Voted: 315

Wishard yes: 228
Wishard no:   84
School 1 yes: 125
School 1 no:   189
School 2 yes:  121
School 2 no:   189

Franklin – 26
Voted:  248
Wishard yes:  162
Wishard no:  83
Franklin 1 yes:  91
Franklin 1 no:  156
Franklin 2 yes:  97
Franklin 2 no:  151

The polls are officially closed.

You can view the results here.

I’ll have analysis at the end of the evening.

I’ll be doing updates over the course of the day so check back here periodically.

At 5:00 p.m.

• There’s one hour to go before the polls close.
• 140 of the 590 precincts absentee ballots have been counted.
• The election board approved five more teams to come in and help count ballots.
• There has been high turnout in Franklin Township and Beech Grove and the trend I reported this morning is apparently continuing.  “Yes” for Wishard, “No” for schools.

At 2:50 p.m.

• Point of correction.  Absentee ballot counting is still taking place and not complete as mentioned earlier.  Clerk staff are going through about 20 precincts per hour.

At 2:00 p.m.

• We’ve got four hours until the polls close.
• I’m told the Marion County Clerk’s Office is finishing up counting nearly 8,000 absentee ballots.
• Turnout is still heavier in the south than other parts of the county.
• Beech Grove High School and Hornets Elementary school were on temporary lockdown today as police searched for a burglary suspect.   No word on how that lockdown impacted voters.

At 11:00 a.m.

• More evidence from folks in southern Marion County, particularly Franklin Township, that voters are splitting their tickets by voting “yes” on the hospital and “no” on the schools.   I’m going to be paying close attention to this trend.
• The counting should start on absentee and early voting ballots in the next hour.
• Indy Star is reporting the Fairbanks Foundation is promising $6 million toward new hospital if referendum passes.
• What are you hearing or seeing?

At 8:50 a.m.

• I’m hearing voter turnout has been light, but steady.  The heavier voting has been taking place in the southern portion of Marion County.  What I’m also hearing that’s pretty interesting is the trend in Franklin and Beech Grove tends to be split-ticket voters.  They’re voting “yes” on Wishard and “no” on the schools.  It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.
• Marion County Clerk Beth White tells me this morning that they will start counting the early votes at noon today.   And because there’s only one or two questions on the ballot the votes should be tallied by 8:15 p.m. this evening.

Today is referendum day in Marion County.  Voters, about 15% by my last count, will go to the polls and vote on a new hospital for Wishard, and school referendums in Franklin and Perry Townships as well as Beech Grove.

Wishard supporters say they are cautiously optmisitc about today’s outcome, but are still encouraging their supporters to get out to the polls.  There is some underground resistance in Franklin Township.  I’m told Perry Township has done a good job of communicating with its residents.  However things are 50/50 in Beech Grove.

If you vote today, let IB know how you voted and why.  I think it’s pretty interesting to get into the thought process of the smarter than average voter.

I blogged last week about how Indiana lawmakers are taking a wait and see approach to whether the state will opt out of the public option component being discussed in the national health care reform debate.

I understand the need to be cautious, but it’s my hope that Indiana will opt out of the public option because it really isn’t necessary.

Indiana already has several programs to insure the uninsured.  Healthy Indiana insures adults 18-24.  Hoosier Healthwise insures low-income families, pregnant woman and children.  And there’s always Medicaid.

Instead forcing Indiana to participate in a national health care, the federal government should give the state more flexibility and more cash to expand its current programs.  There are 25,000 people on the waiting list to join Healthy Indiana and state officials want to shorten that list by the end of the year.

With Hoosier Healthwise it’s estimated that 59% of the children who are eligible aren’t enrolled in the program.  That’s something that can be fixed by more outreach and marketing.

Anyone who still isn’t covered, but can’t qualify for any of the other programs should be given a voucher to purchase private insurance.

It’s estimated 560,000 Hoosiers do not have insurance.

For most of the Wishard referendum debate, I’ve basically been neutral.  I understand the need for building a new facility, but I also understand the taxpayers have been burned on projects like the Library and Lucas Oil Stadium. I’ve heard arguments on both sides and critically watched presentations by both proponents and opponents. However, it was a letter that came in the mail to my wife the other day that took me off the fence.  It was her property tax bill.

She was glad that due to tax caps her bill had virtually been cut in half since 2007.   I decided to do a little closer inspection and look at each unit of government and how much they were taking, specifically Health and Hospital. The Health and Hospital portion of her bill has dropped 112% since 2007 and only made up 7% of her current tax bill. When I saw that, I decided the Wishard referendum works for me.

Many opponents of the referendum say they are concerned the bonds Wishard wants to float will be backed by property taxes and if’ Wishard’s revenue stream, which is funded in part by its nursing home revenue, is disrupted  it will result in a tax increase.  I think the criticism is legitimate, but not fatal.

Let’s assume the worse and there’s a 10% increase in the Health and Hospital portion of my wife’s tax bill to pay for the construction.   By my count, she’s forking over an extra $4 a year.   She spends $4 a day on Starbucks.  A good glass of scotch will cost me $8.  I think we can afford it.  And to put it in even more perspective that $4 increase comes in the heels of more than $600 in property tax deductions she now enjoys due to the caps.

However, I doubt things would even get that far.  In order for there to be a tax increase, Health and Hospital would have to go to the City-County Council and get permission since it is a municipal corporation.  And I don’t see anyone on the Council approving a property tax increase for the Hospital.  If anything, I see more scrutiny in Wishard’s future as Councilors will be watching closely and monitoring cost overruns.  And the public should be there as well, watching and paying attention and holding officials accountable.

Like I said, I started out in neutral and after looking at how under the worse case scenario a 10% increase in Health and Hospital translates into a less than a penny a day from our combined income, Wishard is something we can live with. Now there are some people that taking a penny is too much and they are free to vote their beliefs.  But for us, it’s no big deal.

The other day I questioned whether Hamilton Southeastern Schools were running contrary to the law by advocating  for their referendum on their website.

It turns out HSE is operating within the law because the referendum is for operational expenses.  If it were for capital improvements, the school district would be in big trouble.

It still strikes some HSE taxpayers as odd that a school district can use taxpayers money to push for a measure that takes more taxpayers’ dollars. 

That has also caught the attention of some officials in the Daniels’ administration so don’t be surprised if there’s a change in the law next session.