COLUMBUS, Ind. — Nearly as many voters cast ballots in early voting as on election day in Tuesday’s primary in what was a stark departure from voting behavior in the previous municipal primary four years ago.
At the same time, turnout was slightly higher in Tuesday’s primary than in 2019.
A total of 2,353 people voted Tuesday, while 2,329 people cast ballots early in person or absentee by mail — a difference of just 24 voters, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
By comparison, 2,748 people voted on election in the 2019 municipal primary and 1,262 people voted early in person or absentee by mail, local records show.
Overall, 4,684 people voted in Tuesday’s primary, or about 15.43% of registered voters. A total of 4,010 people voted in the 2019 primary, or 13.73% of voters.
Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said she was pleased that turnout was a little higher this year compared to 2019 and said early voting is becoming increasingly popular among local voters.
Lentz also said holding early in-person voting at NexusPark may have also made a difference. In 2019, early voting was held at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, where parking is more limited.
“We’re seeing that more and more (early voting) as voters realize that is an option,” Lentz said.
Early voting quickly got off to a much faster start than four year ago. Overall, a total of 1,995 people had cast ballots in person at NexusPark or the Bartholomew County Government Office Building, compared to 1,051 people who voted early at the courthouse in 2019.
Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chair Ross Thomas said he was somewhat surprised about the amount of early voting compared to election day voting, adding that it “also reflects the kind of electorate that votes in an off-year election.”
“We were surprised,” Thomas said. “Just conventional wisdom would say where we live, same-day voting is going to be significantly higher, and it certainly wasn’t in this race.”
Bartholomew County Republican Party Vice Chair Josh Burnett said he wasn’t entirely surprised by the increase in early voting this year.
“I don’t think it really surprised me,” Burnett said. “…I think that NexusPark really since 2020 has been such a comfortable and convenient place for people to go and vote.”
For the complete story and more photos, see Wednesday’s Republic.
