A record number of Bartholomew County voters turned out to cast ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election despite a pandemic that dramatically altered how and when voting took place.
A total of 36,673 people voted in Bartholomew County, surpassing the previous record of 33,198, which was set in 2016, said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps.
However, only about 25% of the votes in 2020 were cast in-person on Election Day after a record 20,843 people voted early at FairOaks Mall and 6,700 voters cast absentee ballots through the mail, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
Though President Donald Trump carried the county with 61.7% of the vote, Democrat Joe Biden received 1,158 more absentee-by-mail votes than Trump.
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No Democrat has carried Bartholomew County since 1964, when Lyndon Baines Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater in the county on his way to winning the presidency, according to election records.
Phelps said it was a “historic day.”
“What a great day from start to finish,” Phelps said. “Honestly, these last few months just have been remarkable, going through the entire process from seeing the surge in votes by mail to the transition to folks voting at the mall to just the smooth turnout today and minimal problems.”
“This is one (election) my staff and I will never forget just because of all the numbers we saw every day at the mall,” he added.
In the months leading up to Election Day, officials across the country had to make drastic changes to how in-person voting was done as a pandemic that has infected more than 9 million people and killed at least 320,000 — including 59 in Bartholomew County — continued to rage in almost every state.
Additionally, election officials braced for a surge in voters casting ballots through the mail.
Local election officials saw an initial surge in requests for absentee-by-mail ballots, mailing a record 3,661 absentee-by-mail ballots to voters in a single day on Sept. 14.
The first ballot was returned in person at the Bartholomew County Courthouse the next day, which is believed to be the earliest vote ever cast in Bartholomew County for a presidential election — 49 days before Election Day.
Initial projections estimated that 18,000 to 20,000 voters in Bartholomew County would vote through the mail, but requests tapered off in the run-up to the 28-day early in-person voting period, which started Oct. 6.
Turnout for early in-person voting at FairOaks Mall got off to a record-breaking start with 728 votes on the first day and never let off the gas, with over 1,000 votes being cast on eight of the final nine days of early voting, including 1,349 votes cast on Oct. 30.
The volume of voters turning out to vote early at the mall was so high that one poll worker in charge of wiping down the voting machines with sanitizer after each voter wore a Fitbit and reported walking a total of five miles inside the polling location in a single day, Phelps said previously.
For the voters who cast ballots in person, things looked and felt differently compared to prior presidential elections. Poll workers and election staff wore masks and gloves and used dozens of gallons of hand sanitizer and surface disinfectant.
Each of the 12 voting centers had polls workers who were entirely dedicated to wiping down and disinfecting any surface voters touched, including poll pads, tables and voting machines.
Additionally, markings were placed on the floors at each polling location to keep voters at least 6 feet away from each other while they waited to cast their ballots.
Despite the challenges of administering an election this year, no major problems were reported in Bartholomew County.
“I think that just speaks in high regard of our community, that we follow the guidelines, we get along, and we may have political differences here and there, but overall, our main goal is to have our voices be heard,” Phelps said.
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9,106 — Number of votes cast on Tuesday at voting centers
6,700 — Paper absentee ballots cast
68.63% — Bartholomew County voter turnout
53,434 — Total number of registered voters
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