The day has finally come. It’s primary election day, and whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or independent, here is what you need to know as you head to the polls or await the results tonight:
Where to vote
Voters may stop in at any of the eight voting centers that will be open today from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:
Flintwood Wesleyan Church, 5300 25th St.
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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
Voters may cast their ballots at the voting center of their choice.
Requirements to vote
Voters need to be city residents and must have registered to vote by April 8 to vote in today’s primary. 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 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for people who need driver’s licenses or identification cards to vote, according to the BMV’s website.
How primary elections work
Because it is a primary, voters must select the Republican ticket or Democratic ticket. It is not possible to vote for candidates in both parties, Phelps said.
“Once the voter moves to the polling machine, the voter cannot go back and choose a different party affiliation,” he said.
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.
Phelps said there will be 40 poll workers spread across the eight voting centers. An additional 12 people will be working at the county clerk’s office fielding phone calls and providing other logistical support.
What is at stake?
Republicans: Today’s elections will decide who gets the Republican nomination for eight elected city offices — including the GOP nominations for mayor, five city council seats, two city council at-large seats and city clerk treasurer.
Four of those races are contested, including the races for mayor, city council at-large, City Council District 1 and City Council District 3.
Barbara Hackman, Bartholomew County Republican Party chairwoman, said she is optimistic but is unsure what to expect today in voter turnout.
“I hope we have a good voter turnout,” she said. “You never know. Sometimes the weather has an impact on it as well.”
Hackman encouraged people to vote, especially because there are some contested races on the GOP ticket. The party will rally behind the candidate nominated in the contested races, she said.
“We’ve got some contested races, so it is important for people to go out and vote so we can get a good person to go forward in the general election,” Hackman said.
Democrats: The Democrats have candidates on their ticket for city council at-large, City Council District 2, City Council District 3, City Council District 4 and City Council District 5. None of the Democratic candidates have a challenger in the primary, but will face Republican opponents in the November general election.
Though Nancy Hoover, a retired educator, is listed as a candidate on the Democratic ticket for City Council District 3, she announced April 2 that she was dropping out of the race for health reasons.
Hoover will still appear on the primary ballot because the deadline to withdraw from the ballot before the primary was Feb. 11, Phelps said.
Bob Hyatt, chair of the Bartholomew County Democratic Party, said the party will likely hold a caucus of precinct committee members to select Hoover’s replacement.
“What we’re looking for (today) is a good experience for our candidates in terms of going through the process of running an election,” Hyatt said. “The vote will give us some info on turnout expectations and give our candidates a chance to go to the polls and talk to folks.”
Hyatt said he doesn’t anticipate a large turnout on the Democratic side because there are no contested races among Democrats. However, he still encouraged people to go out and vote. If the turnout today is higher than expected, he said it would it “confirm that we have very good candidates and that they’re working hard.”
Expected turnout
Phelps said he expects a lighter turnout based on the low number of ballots cast during the early voting period.
“It’s been very quiet,” said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps. “I think a lot of it’s due to not having a lot of contested races.”
Early voting ended at noon Monday. A total of 1,261 of people cast their ballots early, compared to 3,117 in 2015, according to figures from the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office.
Currently, 29,201 people are registered to vote in the primary. However, Phelps said he only anticipates around 10 percent of registered voters, 2,500 to 3,000 people, will actually cast their ballots, the lowest overall turnout since 2007, when 1,920 votes were cast.
In 2015, 7,885 voters — 26 percent of eligible voters — cast ballots in the primary. It was the highest turnout since at least 1995, according to the clerk’s office.
The results
Phelps said he expects to have absentee ballot returns in by 6 p.m today 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, visit therepublic.com.
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Eight voting centers will be open today for the primary from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:
- Flintwood Wesleyan Church, 5300 25th St.
- 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
Voters may visit the voting center of their choice.
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Visit therepublic.com to get the latest election news and updates from The Republic.
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There will be four voting machines at each voting center, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps. There will be a total of 32 voting machines across all eight voting centers.
If turnout is higher than anticipated, the county has around 93 additional voting machines that can be deployed.
When voters arrive at a voting center, they should check in at the poll clerk station first, Phelps said. The poll clerk will check the voter’s ID and then the voter will select a party (Republican or Democrat). Once a party has been selected, the poll clerk will give a receipt and a card to a poll judge, who then set up the machine for the voter to cast his or her ballot.
The list of candidates for the party selected by the voter will appear on the voting machine’s screen, Phelps said. All the voter has to do is push the button next to the candidate of their choice.
The machine will then prompt the voter to confirm their selections two times. Once the selections are confirmed the second time, no changes to the ballot can be made and the vote becomes final, Phelps said.
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Here are the contested races on the Republican ticket in today’s primary:
Mayor
- James D. Lienhoop (incumbent)
- Glenn Petri
Council at-large
- Laurie Booher (incumbent)
- Josh Burnett
- John D. Counceller
Council District 1
- Dascal Bunch (incumbent)
- Christopher Rutan
Council District 3
- David Bush (incumbent)
- Russ Poling
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