COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County election officials are preparing to start sending absentee-by-mail ballots to voters who have requested to cast votes through the mail for the May 3 primary.
So far, demand for the ballots is far lower than in the 2020 presidential primary, when a record 8,313 Bartholomew County voters cast absentee ballots through the mail — 12.5 times more than the 660 mail-in votes in the 2016 primary.
As of Tuesday, about 53 voters had requested absentee-by-mail ballots for the 2022 primary, said Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz. County election officials will start mailing out the requested ballots on Friday.
“That’s probably just about average for a midterm election,” Lentz said, referring to the number of requests for absentee-by-mail ballots. “Once we start voting in person, that number tends to go up.”
The update from the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office comes as local election officials continue to prepare for the second election cycle to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, it is unclear how much demand there will be for absentee-by-mail ballots this time around. In spring 2020, demand for casting ballots through the mail surged as COVID-19 swept across the state, prompting state officials to delay the primary.
But with early in-person voting weeks away, COVID-19 hospitalizations are approaching their lowest levels in seven months, according to data from the local COVID-19 Community Task Force.
However, local election officials are “monitoring the situation,” Lentz said.
Voters can request absentee-by-mail ballots by going to indianavoters.in.gov or calling the Bartholomew County Voter Registration Office at 812-379-1604. The deadline for the bipartisan election board to receive an absentee-by-mail ballot is 6 p.m. on Election Day.
In the past, election officials have urged people who plan to return their ballots by mail to plan ahead in case of delays with the U.S. Postal Service.
Absentee-by-mail ballots also can be returned in person at the Bartholomew County Courthouse.
