Mike Wolanin | The Republic Josh Cole casts his in the general election on Election Day at the vote center inside NexusPark in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
The Bartholomew County Election Board has approved the addition of three new voting centers ahead of the 2026 election cycle. These voting centers will be in place for the Tuesday, May 5 primary.
During the 2024 election, Bartholomew County had 14 voting centers throughout different parts of the county. Two of those locations, NexusPark and Donner Center could no longer serve as voting centers and replacements were needed.
Since both NexusPark and Donner Center were centrally located in Columbus, both sites had high voter turnout, according to county officials.
The election board has designated Gather Columbus and the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum to fill out the spaces needed for voting centers. Also, Grace Lutheran Church will also be returning as a voting center for the first time since 2020, much to the joy of everyone who had been missing the Election Day food the church has provided in the past.
Bartholomew County Clerk Shari Lentz said that Gather Columbus should be a good replacement for the voter hubs of NexusPark and Donner Center.
“I’m very impressed with Gather Columbus. And the Air Museum is interesting too. It’ll be interesting to see the turnout and flow of voters there,” Vice-Chairman Mark Kevitt said.
The members of the board speculated that by having the Air Museum as a voting center, more people can visit the museum and bring more attention to it. Voters can even look at some of the exhibits while waiting in line.
Early voting begins on April 7 and continues through May 4. Voters can come in 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Voter registration ends April 6 before early voting starts.
The 15 Bartholomew County Voting Centers for the primary are:
- Flintwood Wesleyan Church, 5300 25th St., Columbus
- St John’s Masonic Lodge, 4131 Rocky Ford Road, Columbus
- Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum, 4742 Ray Boll Blvd., Columbus
- Grace Lutheran Church, 3201 Central Ave., Columbus
- Gather Columbus, 2508 25th St. Suite B, Columbus
- River of Living Water Christian Church, 51 N. Brooks St., Columbus
- Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building, 440 Third St., Columbus
- Terrace Lake Church, 4260 W. County Road 200S, Columbus
- Westside Community Church, 124 Tipton Lakes Blvd., Columbus
- Elizabethtown Fire Station, 700 Washington St., Elizabethtown
- Hope Moravian Church, 202 Main St., Hope
- Clifford Fire Station, 7850 N. Depot St., Clifford
- German Township Fire Station, 9428 Main St., Taylorsville
- Mt. Healthy Community Church, 11910 S. State Road 58, Columbus
- Bartholomew County REMC, 1697 W. Deaver Road, Columbus
