Tuesday is election day, and whether you are a Republican, Democrat, independent or none of the above, here is what you need to know as you head out to the Columbus voting centers for the municipal election.
Where to vote
Voters may cast their ballots at any of the eight voting centers that will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the following locations:
Flintwood Wesleyan Church, 5300 25th St.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
St. Johns Masonic Lodge, 4131 Rocky Ford Road
Grace Lutheran Church, 3201 Central Ave.
Donner Center, 739 22nd St.
Bible Church of Columbus, 3010 10th St.
The Commons, 300 Washington St.
German American Bank, 2310 W. Jonathan Moore Pike
Terrace Lake Church, 4260 W. County Road 200S
Requirements to vote
Voters need to be city residents and must have registered to vote by Oct. 7 to vote in the city election. Voters also need a valid ID, which can be a driver’s license, passport, military ID or state college photo ID, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps.
For questions about ID requirements, voters can call the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office at 812-379-1604 or go to indianavoters.in.gov, where you can also check your voter registration and see who is on your ballot.
The local branch of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 4445 Ray Boll Blvd., will have extended hours today and Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for people who need driver’s licenses or identification cards to vote.
How the election works
Registered voters will select a candidate of their choice for the city council race in the district in which they registered to vote. There are five city council districts.
Voters can call the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office at 812-379-1604 or go to indianavoters.in.gov, where you can also check your voter registration and see who is on your ballot.
Additionally, all voters — no matter what district they live in — will be able to select two candidates for the two city council at-large seats.
However, if voters choose straight party, they still will have to manually make a selection for the at-large race, Phelps said.
“If they vote straight party, they will still have to manually go down and make that selection,” Phelps said. “A straight-party vote will not encompass that race. …There will be signs on all the vote machines, and our poll workers will be telling people that.”
All voters also will be able to vote for mayor and city clerk-treasurer, even though those two races are uncontested.
If you experience problems or have questions while at a vote center, Phelps said voters should speak to a poll worker, who will then contact the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office if necessary.
Voters may vote at any of the eight voting centers, Phelps said. Grace Lutheran Church is expected to have food available for voters and poll workers, Phelps said.
“They’re very hospitable, and they’ve done it for years and years,” Phelps said. “They just always make people feel welcome. I know the poll workers really appreciate it since it’s a 13-hour day for them.”
Phelps said there will be 40 poll workers spread across the eight voting centers. An additional 15 to 20 people will be working at the county clerk’s office fielding phone calls and providing other logistical support.
There are three times during the day when the voting centers tend to be busier, including 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Phelps said voters should keep in mind that no political attire or objects with the names of candidates are allowed in the voting center — that includes T-shirts, hats, buttons or other paraphernalia of candidates in previous elections.
“Zero political paraphernalia is allowed in the voting center, even if the candidate is not on the ballot,” Phelps said.
A new feature
As voters in Columbus cast their ballots, they will be helping the state of Indiana test a new verification system that leaves a paper record of each electronic ballot cast.
The system, called a voter-verified paper audit trail, or VVPAT, is an independent verification system added to electronic voting machines that prints and stores paper copies of electronic voting records to safeguard against possible election fraud and voting machine malfunctions, Phelps said in an earlier interview.
Bartholomew County is one of four counties that are part of the state’s pilot program to test the new systems during this year’s election. The other three counties in the pilot program include Boone, Hamilton and Hendricks counties, said Shari Lentz, Bartholomew County voter registration and election supervisor.
County election officials said they have received 32 VVPAT systems and plan to use them on every voting machine during early voting and on election day Nov. 5, Phelps said.
“Where the state’s concerned and where we’re concerned is trying to ease people’s fear that they can’t see how these votes are being tabulated and put in,” Phelps said. “It’s another fail-safe so they can double-check to make sure that’s exactly who they’re voting for before that vote gets cast.”
The VVPAT system is housed in a rectangular metallic box that is approximately 1 foot tall and 6 inches wide with a clear rectangular opening on the front that allows voters to read a print-out that lists which candidates they selected before they submit their ballot.
What’s at stake?
All seven Columbus City Council seats are up for grabs, including two city-wide at-large seats. Every city council race is contested.
City council members serve four-year terms, as does the mayor and city clerk-treasurer. Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and City Clerk Treasure Luann Welmer are running uncontested.
Currently, there are five Republicans and two Democrats on the city council.
With 70.74% of the vote, Lienhoop defeated Republican challenger Glenn Petri in the GOP primary in May.
Expected turnout
Phelps said he is anticipating higher turnout than in 2015, when 5,132 people (16.4% of registered voters) cast ballots, but slightly lower than 2011, when 9,997 people (33.1% of registered voters) voted.
Bob Hyatt, chair of the Bartholomew County Democratic Party, said he is “reasonably optimistic” about his party’s chances on Tuesday.
“What we’re seeing is that an awful lot of voters seem interested in having more balance in the city council. We have two seats out of the seven, and the voters seem interested in a little more debate and questioning about what is going on,” he said.
Barb Hackman, chair of the Bartholomew County Republican Party, said she is hopeful that the Republicans will gain seats on the city council.
“I think there will be a good turnout, and I hope we keep the good Republicans, the incumbents, and maybe we’ll add a couple more,” Hackman said.
“We wish everyone good luck and we’ll see what happens on Tuesday night,” Hackman said.
Phelps said he expects around 25% of eligible voters to cast ballots. There are 29,633 people registered for the city election.
The results
Phelps said he expects to have absentee ballot returns in by 6 p.m Tuesday and the final results sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The results will be posted on the Bartholomew County Clerk’s website: bartholomew.in.gov/clerk.
To follow The Republic’s election coverage on Tuesday, visit therepublic.com.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Where to learn more” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
For more information, visit the Bartholomew County Clerk’s website at www.bartholomew.in.gov/clerk.html or call the Bartholomew County Voter Registration office at 812-379-1604.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Election coverage” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
For the latest election news and updates, visit therepublic.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Contested races” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here are the contested races for Tuesday’s municipal election.
City Council District 1
- Dascal Bunch (Republican)*
- Jerone Wood (Democrat)
- Michael Kinder (Independent)
City Council District 2
- Elaine Wagner (Democrat)*
- Jim Hartsook (Republican)
City Council District 3
- David Bush (Republican)*
- Katea Ravega (Democrat)
City Council District 4
- Frank Miller (Republican)*
- Michael Schoumacher (Democrat)
City Council District 5
- Tim Shuffett (Republican)*
- Ross Thomas (Democrat)
City Council at-large
- Tom Dell (Democrat)*
- Laurie Booher (Republican)*
- Grace Kestler (Democrat)
- Josh Burnett (Republican)
Note: * denotes that the candidate is an incumbent
[sc:pullout-text-end]
