Local News

Saturday voting draws more than 3,300, long lines

October 26, 2020

Voters prepare to head in after a long wait early in the day at Greenwood Public Library.

The lines were long this weekend as voters came out in droves to cast their ballots at six vote centers across the county.

On the first Saturday of early voting, 3,367 voters cast their ballots. Overall, 36,127 have already voted in Johnson County.

At 8 a.m., the line was already wrapped around the block at Greenwood Public Library. Temperatures hovered around 43 degrees. Voters braced themselves against the chilly air and waited patiently to cast their ballots for the America, Hoosier state and county they want to see.

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They inched forward, one by one, in a line that wrapped around the building from the entrance of the library up Meridian Street and along Surina Way.

Those in line at 8 a.m. waited up to 2 1/2 hours, but the wait was closer to an hour later in the day, said Chris Sifers, election inspector at the site.

“This is the busiest I’ve ever seen it for early voting,” said Sifers, who has worked three presidential elections.

The lines were cut down, in part, by the addition of two poll workers, he said.

“I love it when it is like this. We stay busy, we are on our feet all day. No one has really even taken a break yet,” Sifers said at 1:30 p.m. “We even had to bring in extra people because the normal amount of people we have wasn’t enough.”

The library had 10 machines and seven poll workers. Masks, gloves and hand sanitizer were on hand to make the experience as safe as possible.

With the already record-breaking voting totals, election officials were expecting the long lines Saturday, especially in Greenwood and White River Township, said Trena McLaughlin, Johnson County clerk.

By Thursday, the first day of voting at sites beyond the county courthouse, 17,114 had already cast ballots, surpassing the half-way point of early voting in the 2016 presidential election, McLaughlin said. By the end of the day Saturday, 24,797 voters had cast ballots early in person, which is about 10,000 fewer than the total who cast ballots early in 2016, she said.

So far, 11,330 more voters have cast ballots early by mail, according to the clerk’s office.

Saturday was the first time the Greenwood library was open as a vote center, and the center will remain open for voting through the end of October. Joining the flagship early vote center at the county courthouse, five other vote centers opened last week at the Franklin Community Center, John R. Drybread Community Center, and the Johnson County Public Library branches in White River Township and Trafalgar. More vote centers will be added for Election Day.

Though the line at the Greenwood library was long, lines at other sites, such as the Franklin Community Center and Trafalgar branch of the Johnson County Public Library were shorter, with little to no wait at some points during the day.

Many voters turned out Saturday to avoid long lines on Election Day, but found themselves waiting more than an hour still. Melissa Udeagha chose Saturday to bring her daughter, Sophia, to vote with her.

“I didn’t want to be out and about with all the commotions that could happen on the day,” Udeagha said. “I thought it would be easier to bring her on the weekend. I wanted her to experience some of it, too.”

Some voters were excited to vote, while others had mixed feelings about the candidates they had to choose from, especially those running for U.S. President.

John Dowd was mixed about his choices for president while waiting in line, still debating whether he would vote for incumbent President Donald Trump or his Democratic opponent former Vice President Joe Biden. He wasn’t sure if either man is really right for America, he said.

Others were more sure about their choices, even if the candidates aren’t perfect, they said.

First-time voter Zoie Richey, 24, was drawn to vote this year after regretting not registering in time for the last presidential election. The choice between Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not energize her in time to get registered, but the choice for the Democratic nomination is better this year with Biden, she said.

“I wanted to be sure I did it this year,” Richey said. “I’ve seen a lot more people talk about it on social media this year. I used to not be interested in politics at all, but this year it is hard to avoid it. Everywhere you look it is all over the place.”

Another first-time voter, Sydney Carlsgaard, 20, said it felt good to cast her first vote.

“You want a world where everyone is loved, but at the same time you need to feel safe…,” Carlsgaard said. “Donald Trump is the best for our world right now.”

With so much interest in the races this year, McLaughlin predicts voters will continue to turn out early to avoid long lines on Election Day, she said.

On Election Day and during early voting, McLaughlin is relying on help from specially trained poll works called field technicians who can troubleshoot machine problems onsite, bring more supplies and keep her informed about wait times. During early voting, two field technicians are on the job. On Election Day, five field technicians plus two staff members from MicroVote, the county’s election equipment vendor, will be on hand.

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Here is a look at how many voters cast ballots Saturday at each vote center:

White River Township library – 1,048

Greenwood Public Library – 795

Johnson County courthouse – 592

Trafalgar library – 527

Franklin Community Center – 306

John R. Drybread Community Center – 99

Here is a look at how many total voters had cast ballots by Saturday:

Early in-person votes – 24,797

Mail-in ballots requested – 14,500

Mail-in ballots returned – 11,330

Source: Johnson County Voter Registration

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Here is a look at when and where you can cast your ballot early:

Johnson County courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

8:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 2

Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar