Early in-person voting in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago resumed Wednesday morning as Republican efforts to close the sites bounced from court to court with no judge willing to close the controversial voting centers.

The Indiana Supreme Court refused Tuesday night to hear a lawsuit by Republicans to have the early voting centers in those three cities deemed illegal. The high court returned the case to Lake Superior Court Judge Calvin Hawkins in East Chicago.

Hawkins said Wednesday morning Democrats asked for the case to be moved to another court. Hawkins has named a panel of three judges, one of whom could take up the case. They are Superior Court Judges William Davis, Gerald Svetanoff and Diane Schneider-Kavadias.

Democrats have until 3 p.m. today to strike one of those three names, and then Republicans can strike another unless the two parties can decide mutually agree on another judge.

It remained unclear when a new judge would be picked, and whether that judge would stop early in-person voting as Republicans demand.

Judge Hawkins said Tuesday afternoon he believes Lake Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo's decision to open the satellite voting locations was questionable but said he would not close the sites.

Republicans argue the early sites are illegal because the county elections board did not vote unanimously to open the polling places as state law requires.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker on Wednesday called on GOP members to stop trying to close in-person early voting center.

"The Republicans would have you believe this is about voter fraud. Early in-person voting prevents fraud. Early voting takes place in offices of the circuit court clerk in government buildings and voters are duly registered and have to show voter ID," Parker said. "Its nothing but the normal voting process."