Mike Wolanin | The Republic A sign points to the early voting vote center inside NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
It’s Election Day, and whether you are a Republican, Democrat or independent, here is what you need to know as you head to the polls and 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. in Columbus
- St. Johns Masonic Lodge, 4131 Rocky Ford Rd. in Columbus
- NexusPark (formerly FairOaks Mall), 2288 25th St. in Columbus
- Donner Center, 739 22nd St. in Columbus
- River of Living Water Christian Curch (formerly Berean Bible), 51 N. Brooks St. in Columbus
- Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St. in Columbus
- Terrace Lake Church, 4260 W. County Road 200S in Columbus
- Westside Community Church, 124 Tipton Lakes Blvd. in Columbus
- 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 in Columbus
Requirements to vote
Voters need to be Bartholomew County residents and must have registered to vote by Oct. 11 to vote in today’s midterm election. 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.
How the election works
Registered voters will select a candidate of their choice for several national, state and local offices, including U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state representative, state senate, Bartholomew County Council, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. School Board, among others.
However, if voters choose to vote straight party — meaning voting all Democrat or all Republican for all offices — they still will have to manually select their preferred choices for the at-large and school board races, Lentz said.
If you experience problems or have questions while at a vote center, Lentz said voters should speak to a poll worker, who will then contact the Bartholomew County Clerk’s office if necessary.
Voters may vote at any one of the 13 voting centers.
Absentee-by-mail ballots must be received by the bipartisan Bartholomew County Election Board by 6 p.m. today. Voters can return them in person at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, address.
Voters can visit indianavoters.in.gov to check their registration and see who is on there ballot.
Expected turnout
Local election officials have said they were anticipating a “nice” turnout for this year’s general election driven by numerous contested races.
As of noon Tuesday, 10,800 Bartholomew County voters had cast ballots early in-person or voted absentee by mail — including 555 people who cast ballots in person at NexusPark in just four hours on Monday, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office. M
By comparison, 11,749 people had cast ballots early in person or voted absentee by mail during the 2018 midterm.
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.
At the national level, Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, is seeking re-election in the U.S. Senate. Young is being challenged by Democrat Tom McDermott and Libertarian James Sceniak.
Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, also is up for re-election, and is being challenged by Democrat Cinde Wirth.
At the state level, Democrat Destiny Wells, Republican Diego Morales and Libertarian Jeffrey Maurer are vying for Indiana Secretary of State, an office that oversees elections in Indiana.
There also are four Bartholomew County Council seats up for grabs and several other competitive county-level races, including for auditor, treasurer, commissioner and clerk.
The results will be posted on the Bartholomew County Clerk’s website: bartholomew.in.gov/clerk.
To follow The Republic’s election coverage on Tuesday, visit therepublic.com. M
