Mike Wolanin | The Republic Robert Wagner, left, chats with election officials Steve Schoettmer and Sonnie Warnick before voting on the first day of early voting at the vote center inside NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
Turnout for early in-person voting is off to a strong start, with about 180 votes cast on the first day.
Early voting began Wednesday at NexusPark, with voting machines set up as a voting center in the former Petals and Vine store.
Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said 177 individuals had cast their votes at the site as of 2 p.m.
“We’re off to a great start,” she said, noting that they saw 160 voters on the first day of early voting during the 2018 general election and only 52 for the first day of this year’s primaries.
Republican inspector Kathy Busselberg said that turnout was better than what poll workers had expected, given what they’d seen in the spring.
“I’m pleased that it’s significantly higher,” said Democratic Judge and Bartholomew County Democratic Chairman Steve Schoettmer, who was also helping at the polls.
When asked if she had a theory for the higher turnout, Lentz said that while she’s not entirely sure, one reason may be that most races are contested.
“I’m sure that is generating a lot of interest, so that’s wonderful,” she said.
There were 53,392 registered voters in Bartholomew County as early voting began. While the deadline to register was Tuesday, Lentz said that not everyone has been processed yet, so it will be a few days before the office has a final count.
In-person early voting is being held at NexusPark on weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now until Nov. 4 and on Nov. 7 from 8 a.m. to noon.
Early voting also will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the two Saturdays prior to election day — Oct. 29 and Nov. 5. On both days, there will be two voting sites: NexusPark and the Bartholomew County Council chambers in the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building at 440 Third St. in downtown Columbus. No voting will be held at the Bartholomew County Courthouse.
Community members had different reasons for coming to the polls on Wednesday. Democratic Precinct Committeeperson Virginia Moats chose to vote early because she sometimes works at the polls during election day.
She added that when it comes to voting in both the primary and general races, she’s “never missed an election in 52 years.”
Phyllis Moffat said that she came because, with her health, she’s not sure how she’ll feel on any given day, so it makes sense to go while she’s feeling good.
Robert Wagner came out to avoid crowds; others similarly said they hoped to get through more quickly by coming early.
“I wanted to make sure that I have plenty of time to get done,” said Sharon Krieg. “This is important, and yeah, I didn’t want to take any chances.”
In discussing the election, Schoettmer said he’s curious to see how Democrats will do during this cycle and if there will be any change at the county level, which is generally dominated by GOP candidates.
Moats, Krieg and another voter, Jerry Karr, each said they’re interested in the outcome of the race between incumbent Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana and Democratic challenger Cinde Wirth for U.S. Representative of Indiana’s Sixth District.
Another voter, Emma Metz-Sipple, said that while she doesn’t have kids, she’s become more invested in this year’s school board races than she’s been in the past.
“I’ve never, ever paid any attention whatsoever before,” she admitted.
One of her friends, Anakarina Hurtado, is running for District 1 on the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board.
Additionally, Metz-Sipple said that the more she learns about the subject, the more she sees how important the board’s decisions are, including decisions that affect LGBT individuals.
