Almost every early voting record has been shattered, and re-shattered, in Bartholomew County this fall — and there’s still time to build on those numbers.
On Saturday, for a second straight day, more than 1,000 people voted at the former Carson’s space at FairOaks Mall in Columbus. The day’s final total, 1,084, was three short of Friday’s total and pushed the total number of early in-person votes for the presidential election to over 13,000.
Turnout was so high over the weekend that a third voter check-in station and two voting machines were brought in to help expedite the lines outside the building.
Despite the surge in participation, the longest voters had to stand in line on average was 20 minutes — a testament to Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps and his staff for running a safe, efficient operation.
If you combine both the absentee-by-mail and early in-person votes, a total of 19,133 locals had cast ballots by the end of last week — an unprecedented 36% of all registered voters in the county. Phelps estimated that more than 20,000 early in-person votes will be cast before Election Day on Tuesday.
In the 2016 presidential election, 60% (33,198) of registered locals voted.
Not all voters can feel as fortunate as those in Bartholomew County when it comes to early voting.
In Marion County on Saturday, more than 8,000 Hoosiers voted at five different early voting sites. While most voters waited around two hours to vote, there were some lines that were so long it took more than seven hours to reach the polls.
Those wait times are unacceptable, as officials knew that early voting for the 2020 election would draw a major turnout given the COVID-19 pandemic. Voting should be easy and quick for all Hoosiers — especially since the state didn’t open up mail-in voting to everyone.
Thankfully, many individuals didn’t let the long lines deter them from exercising their rights. Some voters brought their children to the polls, showing them by example just how important it is to get out and vote; a valuable life lesson that will hopefully carry on to the generation after them.
It’s impressive and encouraging to see so many people at the polls before Election Day.
Citizens are engaged in the election process, and are spending more time educating themselves on the candidates they’re voting for, which is a major win for democracy.
Hopefully the same enthusiasm and turnout we’re seeing this fall will spill into the next election cycle, and this year won’t serve as an outlier in the history books.
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Early in-person voting is being held at the former Carson’s space at FairOaks Mall weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 30.
Additionally, early voting will be held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the former Carson’s store this Saturday and from 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 2. No voting will be held at the Bartholomew County Courthouse.
Visit indianavoters.in.gov to check your registration status and see who is on the ballot.
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