Election officials and representatives from the county’s election vendor tested voting equipment ahead of the primary election, now just 48 days away.
There are more than 45 local, state and federal offices on Johnson County ballots, as well as elections for delegates to the Democratic and Republican state conventions, and Democrat precinct committeemen. There are about a dozen contested local, state and national races on the ballots for the upcoming primary on May 3.
Eighteen voting machines, including VVPAT (Voter-verified paper audit trail) systems and ballot readers used to count ballots on Election Day, passed the tests. The VVPAT systems will only be used during early voting and not on Election Day, said Trena McLaughlin, county clerk.
After about three hours of testing Tuesday, the three-member Election Board unanimously OK’d the machines for the May primary election, which it is required by state law to do before every election. The law requires counties to test 5% of the machines they will use in an upcoming election, which means up to 320 will be available.
As part of Wednesday’s test, Kevin Service, the Democratic member of the election board, and Michelle Ann Graves, a proxy for Phil Barrow, a Republican member of the election board, cast sample ballots on an equal number of machines to make sure there were no errors. McLaughlin helped with verification but did not vote due to being on this year’s ballot.
County election board attorney Dustin Huddleston was in attendance as well. The public was welcome to attend, but no one did.
The test included several of the county’s precincts, some of which included straight-party voting to make sure the votes cast matched what was on the tally sheet at the end. Because there is a public question about an Edinburgh schools referendum this year, there was also a test that included only the public question.
It took each tester about three minutes to submit a ballot, which is about how long it should take someone to vote once they reach the booth during early voting or on Election Day.
Just one issue came up during the test. One of the testers mistakenly selected the wrong person on their ballot. The test was redone, and the issue was attributed to human error.
The county also tested its absentee ballot readers, which passed tests as well. So far, absentee-by-mail voting appears to have returned to normal levels after an all-time high of more than 8,000 people during the 2020 presidential election.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 ballots had been requested, McLaughlin said.
Voters still have another month to request mail-in ballots. Completed applications are due by April 23.
To compare, more than 10,500 voters cast absentee ballots during the 2020 general election, and less than 2,000 did so during the last midterm primary in 2018.
Early in-person voting is set to begin April 5. The Johnson County Courthouse will be open for voting during the week, with a handful of other vote centers scattered throughout the county open the two weekends and days leading up to Election Day. Two additional centers, located at two retirement homes in the county, will be open for four hours on two separate days.
Nineteen vote centers will be open on May 3.
A total of 113,833 Johnson County residents are registered to vote, according to data from the Johnson County Clerk’s Office. Residents who still want to register to vote have until April 4 to do so, and can do it online at indianavoters.in.gov, or in-person at the county voter registration office in the basement of the Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin, or any license branch.
The goal of the public test is to make sure the machines work, catch any invalid entries and make sure the printouts match what was entered into each ballot on the machines. The test ballots will not be counted in the election, and MicroVote representatives cleared the system at the end of the public test. The machines that were used during the test on Wednesday will be used during this election.
The county’s certification will be sent to the Secretary of State’s Office for further certification.
WHERE TO EARLY VOTE
Here is a look at when and where you can cast your ballot early. Early voting runs from April 5 to May 2:
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 and April 30 (Saturdays)
8:30 a.m. to noon May 2
White River Public Library, 1664 Library Blvd., Greenwood
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 and April 30
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 25-29
Greenwood Public Library (east door), 310 S. Meridian St., Greenwood
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 and April 30
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 25-29
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 and April 30
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 25-29
John R. Drybread Community Center, 100 E. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23 and April 30
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 25-29
Greenwood Village South Retirement Community, 295 Village Lane, Greenwood
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 25
Otterbein SeniorLife Community, 1070 W. Jefferson St., Franklin
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26
Source: Johnson County Voter Registration
WHERE TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY
Here is a look at approved Johnson County Election Day vote centers. Election Day is May 3, and voters can vote from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
» Mt. Pleasant Christian Church, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood
» White River Township Trustee’s Office, 2929 S. Morgantown Road, Greenwood
» Mt. Auburn Methodist Church, 3100 W. Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood
» White River Public Library, 1664 Library Boulevard, Greenwood
» Community Church of Greenwood (main entrance foyer), 1477 W. Main St, Greenwood
» Greenwood Christian Church, 2045 Averitt Road, Greenwood
» Greenwood Public Library (east door), 310 S. Meridian Street, Greenwood
» The Nest, 100 Byrd Way, Greenwood
» Rocklane Christian Church, 4430 Rocklane Road, Greenwood
» Grace Assembly of God, 6822 N. US Highway 31, New Whiteland
» Clark Pleasant Public Library, 350 Clearwater Boulevard, Whiteland
» Bargersville Town Hall, 24 N. Main St., Bargersville
» Franklin Community Center, 396 Branigan Boulevard/State Street, Franklin
» Grace United Methodist Church, 1300 E. Adams Drive, Franklin
» Amity Volunteer Fire Department, 3247 S. County Road 550 E., Franklin
» Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar
» Princes Lakes Town Hall, 14 E. Lakeview Drive, Nineveh
» John R. Drybread Community Center, 100 E. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
» Johnson County Fairgrounds (Scott Hall), 250 Fairground Street, Franklin
Source: Johnson County Voter Registration
