Mike Wolanin | The Republic Election official Kathy Busselberg, left, shows Jim Cook how to use a voting machine 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 for the Nov. 8 midterm election has gotten off to a faster start than during the previous midterm election four years ago, local election officials said.
As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, a total of 638 voters in Bartholomew County had cast early ballots at NexusPark, roughly 2.5 days after early voting started, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office. By comparison, 513 voters had voted early in-person during the first three days of the early voting period during the 2018 midterm election.
Additionally, demand for absentee-by-mail ballots is up this year compared to 2018, local election officials said. As of early afternoon Friday, the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office had received 1,214 applications to vote absentee by mail, up from 918 at this point during the 2018 midterm.
A total of 320 completed absentee-by-mail ballots had already been returned to the clerk’s office as of the end of the day Thursday.
In total, 958 Bartholomew County voters had already cast ballots either in-person or absentee by mail as of early afternoon Friday.
“It’s a little above what we saw in 2018,” said Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz. “I just think that some voters appreciate the convenience and the ease of voting early, and NexusPark is a great location for us. I think all those factors together give us a little better turnout.”
The faster start to early voting comes after local election officials said they were anticipating a “nice” turnout for this year’s general election driven by numerous contested races.
This year, there are 18 contested races for federal, state and county offices, not including several contested township and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. school board races.
In 2018, there were 10 contested races on the federal, state and county level and no contested BCSC or Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Board races.
In addition, the number of registered voters in Bartholomew County is at its highest since 2016, even though the county’s population has declined since 2018, according to local records and U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
As of Friday, there were 53,455 registered voters in Bartholomew County, though that number could increase in the coming days as 230 voter registration applications are still in pending status. That is slightly more than the 53,434 registered voters in the 2020 presidential election and up from 50,729 registered voters in the 2018 midterm and 52,402 in the 2014 midterm, though down from 55,491 for the 2016 presidential election.
In-person early voting started this past Wednesday at the former Petals and Vine store in the interior of NexusPark, 2252 25th St., in Columbus and will continue weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Nov. 4. Early-voting will also take place at NexusPark on Nov. 7 from 8 a.m. to noon and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the two Saturdays prior to election day — Oct. 29 and Nov. 5.
Voters should “enter the door between Riviera Maya restaurant and Dunham’s Sports, which is different from last election because we’re in the interior of the mall instead of the old JC Penney store,” Lentz said.
There will be a banner at the door where voters should enter, as well as a greeter immediately inside to direct voters to the voting location, Lentz said. There also will be a wheelchair available for anyone who needs it.
Early-in person voting will also be held 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 in the Bartholomew County Council chambers in the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St., in downtown Columbus. No voting will be held at the Bartholomew County Courthouse.
Voters can also request absentee-by-mail ballots by contacting the Bartholomew County Voter Registration Office at 812-379-1604 or by going to indianavoters.in.gov.
The deadline to request an absentee-by-mail ballot is Oct. 27, and the deadline for the bipartisan Bartholomew County 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 intend 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 returned at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, 234 Washington St., election officials said.
“I’m very pleased at how well the voting process is just moving along,” Lentz said. “I’m just very fortunate to have a great team of election workers, our voter staff and the absentee board members and our poll workers at the early voting site at NexusPark.”
