Carla Clark | For The Republic Some of the disinfecting supplies at the voting center located at Nexus Park in Columbus, Indiana, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
IT is primary day, and whether you are a Republican, 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 at any of the county’s vote centers that will be open today 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 Rd.
NexusPark, 2252 25th St.
Donner Center, 739 22nd St.
River of Living Water Christian Church (formerly Berean Bible), 51 N Brooks St.
Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St.
Terrace Lake Church, 4260 W. County Road 200S
Westside Community Church, 124 Tipton Lakes Blvd.
Elizabethtown Fire Station, 700 Washington St. in Elizabethtown
Hope Moravian Church, 202 Main St. in Hope
Clifford Fire Station, 7850 N Depot St. in Clifford
German Township Fire Station, 9428 Main St. in Taylorsville
Ogilville United Methodist Church, 11910 S. State Road 58
Voters who received absentee-by-mail ballots have until 6 p.m. today to return the ballots to the bipartisan Bartholomew County Election Board. If you haven’t put your absentee-by-mail ballot in the mail, you can return it in person at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, 234 Washington St., election officials said.
Requirements to vote
Voters need to be Bartholomew County residents and must have registered to vote by April 4 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 Shari Lentz.
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.
Safety precautions
Some of the safety measures aimed at reducing the chances of spreading COVID-19 at polling places during the 2020 election will once again be in place.
Election officials will have hand sanitizer on site, poll workers will be wiping down voting equipment and officials plan to space out voting machines. Masking at polling places is encouraged but is optional for poll workers and voters, election officials said.
How the primary works
Because it is a primary, voters must select the Republican ballot or Democratic ballot. It is not possible to vote for candidates in both parties. The primary is held to nominate candidates from each party to appear on the fall election ballot.
This year, there are several contested races on the Republican ticket.
Indiana Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, is being challenged by Bartholomew County Prosecutor William “Bill” Nash for the GOP nomination for state House District 59.
Lindsey Holden-Kay and Joshua K. Scherschel are seeking the Republican nomination for Bartholomew County prosecutor.
Three people — incumbent Scott Bonnell, Dave London and Greg Patterson — are seeking the GOP nomination for the Bartholomew County Council District 1 seat.
Incumbent Bartholomew County Council President Greg Duke is being challenged by Leah Beyer for the Republican nomination for the Bartholomew County Council District 2 seat.
Derick Olson is challenging incumbent Mark Gorbett for the Bartholomew County Council District 3 seat.
Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana is being challenged by Johnson County resident James Dean Alspach for the Republican nomination for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
There are fewer contested races on the Democratic ticket.
Two people — Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth and George Thomas Holland — are seeking the Democratic nomination for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
Expected turnout
Local officials are hopeful that turnout will be high, with several contested races in the primary and both major parties saying their bases are energized.
If early in-person voting and requests for absentee-by-mail ballots are any indication, turnout may be higher for this year’s primary than in 2018 primary, the previous midterm election.
Requests for absentee-by-mail ballots are much higher than they were at the same in the 2018 primary, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
Overall, 2,224 local voters had cast ballots as of late last week, compared to 886 votes had been cast at the same point in 2018.
Official turnout in 2018 was 12,304, or about 25% of registered voters.
Lentz said she expects to see good turnout today at the polls.
“Several people that I know personally are wanting to wait until Election Day to vote,” Lentz said. “I expect a good turnout on Election Day.”
Results
Lentz said officials will be working to get the final results in as quickly as possible after the polls close at 6 p.m.
Election officials say they plan to start counting absentee-by-mail ballots this morning and expect to finish counting ballots received prior to Election Day by mid-afternoon. However, they may receive more absentee-by-mail ballots before today’s 6 p.m. deadline.
“It’s just really hard to know for sure when we will have a complete count for everyone, but those will be updated as usual on the county website,” Lentz said. “So, folks can stay tuned to that for the latest updates, and they will be posted as we receive those in. We’ll post a few votes centers at a time like we’ve done in the past.”
The results will be posted on the Bartholomew County Clerk’s website: bartholomew.in.gov/clerk.
