Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rolls of I Vote Today stickers sit on a table on the first day of early voting at the vote center inside NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rolls of I Vote Today stickers sit on a table on the first day of early voting at the vote center inside NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
Voting for the Columbus municipal primary will begin in just a couple of weeks, with only one contested race for each party.
The voter registration deadline is April 3, said Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz. Early voting begins on April 4 at NexusPark and will take place on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at that location until noon on May 1, according to the clerk’s office.
Lentz said that voting will once again be located in the former Petals and Vine store inside NexusPark. Voters should enter through the entrance between Rivieria Maya and Dunham’s.
“We’ll have a greeter inside the doors to help direct folks to the proper location, but things will look a lot like they did in the 2022 general,” she said.
Early voting will also be available on two Saturdays, April 22 and April 29, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at NexusPark and the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building at 440 Third St. No voting will take place at the courthouse.
The primary is May 2, and the following vote centers will be available at that time: Flintwood Wesleyan Church, St. John’s Masonic Lodge, NexusPark, Donner Center, River of Living Water Christian Church (formerly Berean Bible), the Bartholomew County Governmental Office building, Terrace Lake Church and Westside Community Church.
The state deadline to request an absentee-by-mail ballot is 11:59 p.m. on April 20. Absentee ballot applications can be submitted to the clerk’s office or online at indianavoters.com. The deadline for the bipartisan Bartholomew County Election Board to receive an absentee-by-mail ballot is 6 p.m. on election day.
“If anyone is unsure of their voting registration status, feel free to give us a call,” said Lentz. “…It’s 812-379-1604. And we’d be happy to check that for you. You can also go to indianavoters.com to check your status and be sure that you are current.”
She added that only registered voters living within the city limits of Columbus will be able to vote in the upcoming election, and voters should remember that they can only vote for one party in the primary.
A primary determines a political party’s nominee for the office, meaning a Republican or Democratic nominee will be chosen to be on the ballot for the fall election. There are only two contested races on the ballot, the Republican nomination for Columbus mayor and the Democratic nomination for Columbus City Council District 3.
Columbus Director of Administration and Community Development Mary Ferdon and former state representative Milo Smith are seeking the Republican nomination for mayor of Columbus. While there is currently no Democratic candidate for mayor, the party could still select a candidate for the general election as the deadline to do so is July 3 at noon.
For District 3, Tony Hayden, Michael Kinder and Councilman Jerone Wood are vying for the Democratic nomination for council. The sole Republican candidate for the seat is Sue Norman-Chapple.
Wood, who currently represents District 1, has filed to run for District 3 due to new council district maps, which go into effect in 2024 and can be viewed on the city’s website.
Only voters who reside in District 3 can cast a vote for this race, said Lentz.
In the 2019 municipal primary election, voter turnout was about 14%, with only 4,010 out of 29,201 registered voters in the city of Columbus casting votes. In 2015, the year Mayor Jim Lienhoop unseated then-incumbent Kristen Brown, voter turnout was almost 26% at the primary.
Lentz said that 30,082 voters were registered for the primary as of March 15, and she is optimistic about this year’s turnout.
“I’m happy that we have a contested race on both sides, and that will hopefully bring more folks out and get everyone interested and involved and excited about casting their ballots,” she said.
