From left, Johnson County maintenance workers Shaun Spears, Aaron Miller and Noah Henson put up equipment after delivering voting machines Monday to the Franklin Cultural Arts and Recreation Center. Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
Tuesday is the day to make your voice heard.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, voters will cast ballots to select candidates in multiple contested races at the local, state and federal level. In some races, especially for local offices, whoever wins today will likely be the person to hold office next year, unless Democrat enters the race before the general election in November.
Voters taking the Republican ballot have choices to make for Johnson County Prosecutor, county council districts 1 and 4, town councils in Bargersville, New Whiteland and Edinburgh, Nineveh Township Trustee, the Union Township seat on the Franklin Union Needham Township Board. Three statehouse races are on the ballot: District 47, 57 and 60.
There also is the race for U.S. Congressional District 6 and the race is contested on both sides of the aisle.
Voters who live in the Edinburgh school district will have a public questions regarding school funding, regardless of party affiliation.
A total of 19 vote centers will open in churches, libraries and government buildings across the county, giving voters many options to cast their votes. The number of vote centers is almost double the number open during the 2020 election when the number of vote centers was trimmed down due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Trena McLaughlin, county clerk.
Johnson County may use any vote center in the county. With so many options, voters can find a vote center on their route to work or school that works best for their schedule.
More than 220 poll workers will be staffed to check-in voters in and guide them through the voting process, McLaughlin said.
This year 3,570 people cast their vote through in-person early voting by close of early voting at noon Monday. Another 766 voters had returned mail-in ballots by Monday afternoon, according to the Johnson County Voter Registration office.
Statewide, more than 155,000 Hoosiers have already cast their ballots, including more than 120,000 who voted during the state’s in-person early voting period, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
“Hoosiers can go to the polls with confidence thanks to the work of election administrators in each of Indiana’s 92 counties to ensure safe and secure elections,” Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan said in a statement.
Both in terms of safety precautions and turnout, McLaughlin expects this election to be a more normal election, similar to 2018, compared to what voters experienced in 2020.
Unlike 2020, election officials are not requiring masks to be worn while voting and poll workers aren’t required to wear them either, though masks will be available for those who want them, McLaughlin said.
Gloves and cleaning disinfectants will also be available for poll workers to use, and there will be plastic partitions, or sneeze guards, in place to separate poll workers from voters, she said
In this election, McLaughlin expects the turnout to be lower than in both the 2020 and 2018 primary elections. The 2020 primary election also saw a 21% turnout from county voters, data shows.
During the last mid-term election in 2018, the county’s voter turnout was 18%. Though this is likely because there was a contested sheriff’s race which brought more voters out, McLaughlin said.
For this election, there is another factor that could affect turnout: the weather. Rain and storms are in the forecast and that could also lower turnout, she said.
Voters must bring their state-issued driver’s license or ID, or another form of acceptable identification. These other forms include passports, military IDs or an ID from a state-funded college, McLaughlin said.
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will be open to give voters IDs if they don’t have one, McLaughlin said.
ELECTION DAY VOTE CENTERS
Here is a look at where you can cast your ballot in person from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday:
Amity Volunteer Fire Department, 3247 S. 550 E., Franklin
Bargersville Town Hall, 24 N. Main Street, Bargersville
Clark Pleasant Public Library, 350 Clearwater Boulevard, Whiteland
Community Church of Greenwood (Main Entrance Foyer), 1477 W. Main St, Greenwood
Franklin Community Center, 396 Branigin Boulevard and State Street, Franklin
Grace Assembly of God, 6822 U.S. 31 North, New Whiteland
Grace United Methodist Church, 1300 E. Adams Drive, Franklin
Greenwood Christian Church, 2045 Averitt Road, Greenwood
Greenwood Public Library (East door), 310 S. Meridian St, Greenwood
John R. Drybread Community Center, 100 E. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
Mt. Auburn Methodist Church, 3100 W. Stones Crossing Road, Greenwood
Mt. Pleasant Christian Church, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood
Rocklane Christian Church, 4430 Rocklane Road, Greenwood
Princes Lakes Town Hall, 14 E. Lakeview Drive, Nineveh
Scott Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, 250 Fairground St., Franklin
The Nest, 100 Byrd Way, Greenwood, IN 46143
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar
White River Public Library, 1664 Library Boulevard, Greenwood
White River Township Trustee’s Office, 2929 S. Morgantown Road, Greenwood
ELECTION CENTRAL
Stay in the loop. Get the latest vote totals Tuesday on our website: dailyjournal.net.
TELL US YOUR STORY
Let us know how voting goes for you. Lines wrapped around the building? Didn’t have the correct ID? End up at a vote center that’s closed this election? Call us at 317-736-2774 or email [email protected].
