Shari Lentz
Local election officials and leaders of both major parties say Tuesday’s primary election went smoothly but are not sure why turnout was lower than four years ago. However, officials are optimistic that turnout will be higher in the November general election.
A total of 8,802 Bartholomew County voters cast ballots in the 2022 primary, or 16.7% of registered voters, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office.
That was nearly an 8% decrease in turnout compared to 2018, when 24.7% of registered voters cast ballots. However, more voters cast ballots early this year than in 2018.
Overall, 7,164 voters participated in the GOP primary, and 1,636 voted in the Democratic primary, according to the clerk’s office. An additional two voters only participated in a public question dealing with the Edinburgh referendum.
Some officials were anticipating that the higher level of interest seen in the 2020 presidential election — when a record 36,673 Bartholomew County voters turned out to vote — would carry over to the midterms to a greater extent than it did.
Generally, midterms see less turnout than presidential elections.
But with 3,536 fewer ballots cast on Election Day than four years ago, some officials pointed to weather as a possible reason for lower turnout. Others said that they overestimated interest and suggested less national spotlight may have contributed.
Overall, 3,502 fewer voters turned out this year than in 2018.
“I don’t know. I wish I had an answer for you,” said Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz. “…I was hoping with the weather kind of clearing up in the afternoon that we would see more turnout on Election Day. Our early absentee in person was so strong that I thought, perhaps, that would really give us a good turnout percentage overall. But our Election Day just turnout wasn’t as strong as I had hoped.”
Bartholomew County Republican Party Chairwoman Luann Welmer speculated rainy weather may have kept people away from the polls, though she said the “the Republican showing was just fabulous.”
“It was kind of gloomy at first in the morning, but I think the right people got out and voted, the ones that were informed voters and knew exactly who they wanted to see in those offices,” Welmer said.
On the side of the aisle, Bartholomew County Democratic Chairman Steve Schoettmer said local officials, including himself, may have over-anticipated the level of interest in the primary.
“It kind of tells me that there’s not as much interest as we thought coming into this election cycle,” Schoettmer said.
Additionally, there was not as much of a national spotlight on Indiana’s primary as there was in 2018, Schoettmer said.
In 2018, a contested race for U.S. Senate in Indiana that pitted Mike Braun against Luke Messer and Todd Rokita drew the attention of then-President Donald Trump, who visited Indiana to campaign for Braun in the run-up to the general election.
The only incumbent senator who was on the ballot on Tuesday was Sen. Todd Young, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.
“Trump came to the state that during the fall election three times, and said, ‘My name isn’t on the ballot, but I’m on the ballot,’” Schoettmer said. “…(There was) a really massive turnout for an off-year election. So, I think you had that push all year long by Trump and by the far-right wing of the Republican Party.”
But this year, “Trump has no reason to come to the state,” Schoettmer said.
Besides the 2018 Senate race, there was some national attention about the possibility of another Pence heading to Capitol Hill, with Greg Pence running for Congress for the first time. And there also was a six-person primary battle for the GOP nomination for state House District 59.
Overall, several races that were contested in 2022 and 2018 saw lower turnout on Tuesday than four years ago.
In 2018, 9,066 votes were cast for the GOP primary in Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, compared to just 6,020 people on Tuesday.
A total of 7,883 people voted in the GOP primary for District 59, compared to 5,509 on Tuesday.
On the Democratic side, 2,678 votes were cast in the race for the Democratic nomination for Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, compared to 1,459 on Tuesday.
But despite the lower-than-anticipated turnout on Tuesday, both parties say they’re energized heading into the general election.
Welmer said the local GOP is “unified” and “invigorated” as the party shifts gears for November election.
“We definitely have the momentum going,” Welmer said. “This group of candidates is hard-working and just thoroughly excited about next steps, and I think that they will work very, very hard in the fall.”
“Our group is very unified,” Welmer said. “We’re invigorated. We’re, we’re growing. …We’re just so excited to have all the new interest and getting some young people involved. And we just hope to keep that going forward.”
Schoettmer, for his part, said the leak of a draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion nationwide will likely drive up interest among Democrats in the general election.
“I think in the fall, you know, with Roe v. Wade on the docket, that’s going to really push — justifiably — women and men of good conscience to have more fervor,” Schoettmer said. “So, I think you’ll see the Democratic side a lot more active, a lot more involved.”
