Mike Wolanin | The Republic Stickers with the message I Voted Today are laid out on a table on the first day of early voting at NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Oct. 16, 2023.
Local party officials are expecting a large turnout in the upcoming general election as local election officials report that they sent out hundreds of absentee-by-mail ballots on the first day allowed under state law.
Officials sent out 864 absentee-by-mail ballots on Friday, the most ever on the first day in the history of Bartholomew County not including 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic drove record numbers of people to vote through the mail, according to the Bartholomew County clerk’s office.
The first day of in-person absentee early voting is Oct. 8.
By comparison, 290 absentee-by-mail ballots were sent out on the first day allowed under state law in 2016 and 411 in 2012.
Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said she is anticipating high turnout this year for the presidential election. In August, the Bartholomew County Election Board voted to add poll workers at nine of the 14 vote centers in the county to help with high turnout.
“I’m expecting big numbers,” Lentz said last month.
In the 2020 presidential election, 36,674 Bartholomew County residents cast ballots, or nearly 69% of registered voters — the highest turnout for a presidential election in the county in 28 years, when Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot were on the ballot.
As of Monday, there were 53,453 registered voters in Bartholomew County, just 19 voters more than on election day in 2020 and 2,038 fewer than on election day in 2016, according to records from the clerk’s office.
Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chair Ross Thomas said the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris for president “brought a new level of energy” to the party.
He also said there is considerable interest in the races for Indiana governor and Indiana attorney general.
“I’m expecting high turnout,” Thomas said. “…I think Democrats are energized in this state.”
Bartholomew County Republican Party Chair Luanne Welmer said local Republicans are “excited” about the upcoming election. She said the presidential race, as well as local races, are generating a lot of interest.
“Absolutely, we are expecting a high turnout,” Welmer said. “Republicans are excited. We’re excited for the presidential race, as well as our local races.”
If Bartholomew County were to see high turnout in the upcoming election, it would stand in stark contrast to the 2024 primary, which saw the lowest turnout for a presidential primary in at least 64 years.
The 2024 primary also saw some division within the Republican Party. A total of 42% of Bartholomew County voters who participated in the 2024 GOP primary either voted against former President Donald Trump, who was the presumptive nominee at the time, or abstained from voting for a presidential candidate all.
Former South Carolina Gov. and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley received nearly 28% of votes cast in Bartholomew County for the GOP presidential nomination in the 2024 primary even though she had suspended her campaign two months before election day.
In addition, nearly 40% of local voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary — 3,640 voters — abstained from voting for Rep. Jim Banks in his uncontested bid for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.
As of Monday, 954 more people were registered to vote compared to this year’s primary, according to records from the clerk’s office.
The chairs of both parties are urging people to get out and register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election is Oct. 7.
Voters can register to vote by going to the Bartholomew County Voter Registration Office, located inside the Bartholomew County Courthouse, or by visiting indianavoters.in.gov.
