INDIANAPOLIS — A proposal to help alleviate hours-long early voting lines in Marion County was struck down by a single Republican board member on Thursday. In order to expand hours for early voting, the Marion County Election Board requires a unanimous vote. The proposal would have expanded early voting hours by two hours: moving up the start from 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. Want to vote early? Be prepared for long wait times But Vice Chair Jennifer Ping voted against the change, stating she did not believe election hours should be changed in the middle of an election. Ping is a Republican and previously served as chairwoman of the Marion County Republican Party. The Election Board wanted to expand the early voting hours to help alleviate long wait times across Marion County that have seen voters waiting for two hours or more just to cast their ballot. The Marion County Clerk's Office said early voter turnout has far surpassed even the 2020 and 2022 election In fact, voters have been flooding the ballot box early across the state with more than one million Hoosiers already casting their votes. In 2020, Marion County opened up Lucas Oil Stadium to help accommodate the voting demand. This year, Lucas Oil is a bit tied up as hundreds of thousands of Swifties swarm the stadium for three days of Taylor Swift performances. The Election Board attempted to propose a compromise with Ping which would have extended voting hours only at a north and south side location. But the compromise also failed. Early voting in Marion County will continue to be available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The City-County Building will be open for early voting from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The Indiana Democratic Party released a statement condemning the move. “Republicans in Indiana are becoming experts at disenfranchising voters. We’ve seen long lines in Indianapolis and across the state because Hoosiers are excited to vote in this election. Democrats have moved to expand ballot access across the state due to long lines in Fort Wayne, West Lafayette, and Indianapolis and elsewhere, Republicans have blocked those efforts and made it more difficult for Hoosiers to cast a ballot. This is something voters want – they do not want to wait in lines, or can’t afford to, even in the best weather.” Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl. The Marion County Republican Chair Joe Elsener supported Ping's decision to block the extension. Elsener argued that two years ago he advocated creating two early voting locations per township, which would have increased early voting locations in Marion County to 18 locations, but was shot down by Democrats due to staffing concerns. "At this late stage in the election cycle, it is wrong to change the rules that have been agreed upon for months by both major parties. The fact of the matter is, that with nine early voting locations, Marion County has more early voting options this year than any presidential election cycle in history." Marion County Republican Chair Joe Elsener