Mike Wolanin | The Republic Election official Kathy Busselberg cuts out “I Voted Today” stickers in the voter center at Donner Center in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
Bartholomew County election officials said they have continued to see high demand for absentee-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 5 presidential election, with a few hundred local voters already casting their votes through the mail.
As of Thursday, local officials had sent out 1,478 absentee-by-mail ballots and 420 ballots have already been returned, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office. By comparison, officials had sent out a total of 551 absentee-by-mail ballots at the same point in the 2016 election.
Local election officials have said the 2016 election may be a more appropriate point of comparison than the 2020 election, as fears of catching COVID-19 at the polls drove an unprecedented number of local residents to request absentee-by-mail ballots then.
A total of 4,383 absentee-by-mail ballots were sent out on just the first day allowed under state law in the 2020 election.
Local party officials and county election officials are expecting a large turnout in the upcoming 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.
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.
Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said she is anticipating high turnout this year.
“I’m expecting big numbers,” Lentz said.
Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chair Ross Thomas said earlier this week that 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.
Bartholomew County Republican Party Chair Luanne Welmer, for her part, said earlier this week that local Republicans are “excited” about the upcoming election. She said the presidential race, as well as local races, are generating a lot of interest.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday, and in-person absentee early voting starts Tuesday at Donner Center, 739 22nd St.
Lentz said she initially plans to have eight voting machines set up for early in-person voting at Donner Center, but can add more if needed. Poll workers will be trained on Monday, she said.
