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Calumet Township Trustee, Mary Elgin, discussed the importance of early voting from the perspective of those who have the duty of counting the votes. Elgin told i-Reporter, Leslie Jones McCloud, that early voting  makes it easier for tallies to be reached on Election Day.

Biography of Calumet Township Trustee (Lake County, Indiana) Mary Elgin

Mary retired from Ispat-Inland Steel Company on December 31, 2002, after working there for 30 years and assumed her new duties as Calumet Township Trustee on January 1, 2003.

As Trustee, she oversees Northwest Indiana's second-largest governmental entity covering the cities of Gary and Griffith, including the unincorporated areas in between. The Township's primary function is to provide assistance to those in need.

Mary Elgin was the first woman to hold the position of Financial Secretary of Local Union 1010; she was elected in the largest local union of the United Steelworkers of America. She had previously served as a Local Union 1010 Trustee and elected for three consecutive terms as the Recording Secretary of Local 1010, representing the employees at Ispat-Inland Steel, Indiana Harbor Works.

Mary was also elected each time she ran as a delegate to the USWA International Constitutional Convention.

In addition to her extensive experience as a union leader, Mary has served as a professional tax consultant for over 25 years in her community.

Mary has served as the president of the Northwest Indiana Chapter of CLUW, president of the Indiana Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and is the founder and former chairperson of Local 1010 Women's Committee. She was elected as a delegate three times to the Democratic National Convention and has done her share of marching in Washington, D.C. for causes like: the Equal Rights Amendments, Pregnancy Disability of Women, union issues and freedom for South Africa.