Candidate filing was off to a slow start as the filing window opened Wednesday morning.
Wednesday was the first day candidates could file in Indiana to be placed on ballots for the 2024 election. By 9 a.m., four candidates had filed and another four had dropped off ballot petitions at the Johnson County Courthouse in Franklin.
But by 4 p.m., those numbers had grown to at least six candidate filings and 11 ballot petitions.
There are 40 offices up for election this year in Johnson County, 27 for the May 7 primary and 33 for the Nov. 5 General Election. A majority of offices will appear on both ballots, though some are primary only, like state convention delegates and precinct committeemen, while others, like Vice President, Lieutenant Governor, State Attorney General and school boards, are general election only.
County election officials expected there to be a line outside the door as filing opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Instead, they were met with no one in line. Johnson County Commissioner Ron West was the first to arrive but was still filing out his filing paperwork when Eric Doden, one of five Republicans running for Indiana Governor, arrived to drop off his petition to be placed on the county’s ballot.
Major party primary candidates for governor, along with president and U.S. senator, are required collect at least 500 signatures from registered voters in each of Indiana’s nine congressional districts. The petition of nomination then must be filed with county voter registration offices for verification of voter signatures before being given to the Indiana Election Division.
Petitions for three other Republican gubernatorial candidates — Brad Chambers, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Jamie Reitenour — were dropped off at the courthouse during the first hour of filing. But Doden was the only gubernatorial candidate to appear in person during that hour.
First filers
Doden, a Fort Wayne businessman, was excited to be among the first to file in Johnson County, he said.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to participate in this process of running for governor and being part of this journey,” Doden said. “This is just part of the process and we’re grateful to be part of it.”
He wants to bring a “92-county strategy” that’ll serve all Hoosiers if elected, he said.
“I grew up in small towns and we think that our strategy would be good to not just our larger cities, but our smaller communities,” Doden said. “And that’s what we really believe is important from our perspective, is to make sure that we have a 92-county strategy that serves all 6.8 million people in Indiana.”
Doden cited Franklin’s restoration over the last 10 to 20 years as a model that could replicated across the state to restore and improve communities.
“We’re really proud of Franklin,” he said.
West, who has been a county commissioner representing White River, Pleasant and Clark townships in District 3 since 2013, filed for reelection because there are many county projects he’s been involved with that he would like to see fulfilled. This includes a new community corrections building, a project that has been worked on for over seven years, he said.
“I just like to be one more term to fulfill some of these obligations we’ve made to the residents and the taxpayers, and getting a lot of these programs off the ground and getting them instituted,” West said. “Plus, I just love serving the people in the county. It has been a pleasure to do it for a number of years and I’d like to continue to do that.”
The county is also at the forefront of “cutting edge” projects, he said. An example is the under-construction mental health building, a partnership between the county and Johnson Memorial Health.
“That’s unique and one of the first, we understand, in the state that’s county owned-and-operated like that,” West said.
District 1 Commissioner Brian Baird, who represents Blue River, Nineveh and Hensley townships, also filed for re-election later Wednesday.
Former Greenwood City Council member Ron Bates was the second local candidate to file for office at the courthouse, filing for Johnson County Council At-Large. Bates had served on the Greenwood City Council for 20 years before being ousted in last year’s Republican primary.
Bates said he is running because he wants to continue to serve, something that is ingrained in him.
“The Scripture teaches that we’re not saved to sit, we’re saved to serve,” Bates said. “And so that’s kind of ingrained in me — to serve in my church, to serve my community, to serve my county.”
Current County Council member Ron Deer filed for reelection later in the day Wednesday, while current county treasurer Michele Ann Graves filed to run for county council. The other two current council at-large members Melinda Griesemer and John Myers didn’t file Wednesday.
Election preview
The slow turnout for filing Wednesday morning was a surprise to Johnson County Clerk Trena McLaughlin.
“I honestly expected [it to be] a little busier for the first day of filing. But I think maybe they’re just gonna trickle in all day and maybe just stay steady,” McLaughlin said.
Potential candidates have until noon on Feb. 9 to file for office. Those who are interested in running for county or municipal offices, along with state convention delegates and precinct committeemen, must file at the Johnson County Clerk’s Office located in the Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin. Candidates for local judges must file with the Indiana Election Division located in room E-204 at the Indiana Government Center, 302 W. Washington St., Indianapolis. Statewide and federal office candidates must file with the Indiana Election Division or at the Indiana Secretary of State’s office at 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis.
For the primary, federal offices up are president, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative for District 6. State offices include governor, and for Johnson County specifically, there are four state representatives and three state senators up in the primary.
County offices include coroner, surveyor, treasurer, county commissioners for Districts 1 and 3, three county council at-large seats and judges for circuit court and superior court 1. The town of Prince’s Lakes has two at-large town council seats up this year, as a result of a change that staggered terms for the five-member council.
Primary-only offices up for election are Republican state convention delegates for all five of the county’s districts, along with all precinct committeemen at-large for Republicans. There are also 36 Democrat state convention delegate at-large seats up for grabs.
Once the filing period ends, county officials will have about two months to prepare for the primary, during which voters will select candidates from each party to run in the general election. Since a majority of voters in Johnson County tend to cast Republican ballots, many races are often decided during the primary.
Voters who want to cast a ballot in this year’s election must be registered to vote by April 8 if doing so online, or April 9 if doing so in person at the Johnson County Courthouse. The county government will be closed on April 8 because of the solar eclipse, so in-person voter registration was extended a day, McLaughlin said.
Johnson County will continue to use vote centers this year, allowing local voters to cast their ballots at any of a handful of locations throughout the county. Early voting will also be an option at some locations in the month leading up to Election Day.
The exact times for early voting have not yet been approved by the county’s election board. McLaughlin expects the county to utilize the full early voting window, from April 27 to May 6.
Mail-in absentee ballots will be available for those who are eligible under state law, and those who want mail-in ballots should send in applications. Approved ballots will be sent out by the week of March 18, before a March 23 deadline to send them out, McLaughlin said.
WHO FILED?
Here’s a look at who filed for office on Wednesday, the first day to do so:
Brian P. Baird, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner District 1
Ronald (Ron) Bates, Republican, Johnson County Council At-Large
Charlie Bourne, Republican, Prince’s Lakes Town Council At-Large
Cyndi Carrasco, Republican, Indiana Senate District 36
Ronald (Ron) Deer, Republican, Johnson County Council At-Large
Michelle Ann Graves, Republican, Johnson County At-Large
Ronald H. (Ron) West, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner District 3
Here’s a look at who filed petitions to be placed on Johnson County’s ballot:
Jim Banks, Republican, U.S. Senator
Joseph Biden, Democrat, President
Mike Braun, Republican, Indiana Governor
Brad Chambers, Republican, Indiana Governor
Suzanne Crouch, Republican, Indiana Governor
Eric Doden, Republican, Indiana Governor
Jennifer McCormick, Democrat, Indiana Governor
Valerie McCray, Democrat, U.S. Senate
Jamie Reitenour, Republican, Indiana Governor
Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican, President
Donald Trump, Republican, President
Sources: Johnson County Voter Registration, Carrasco campaign.
OFFICES AVAILABLE
Here’s a look at what offices are up for election this year:
Federal
President
Vice President (General election only; appears with president)
U.S. Senator
U.S. House of Representatives: District 6
State
Governor
Lieutenant Governor (General Election only; appears with governor)
Attorney General (General Election only)
State Senators: Districts 32, 36 and 37
State Representatives: Districts 47, 57, 58 and 60
County
Circuit Court Judge
Superior Court 1 Judge
Treasurer
Coroner
Surveyor
County Commissioner: Districts 1 and 3
County Council At-Large: 3 seats
Municipal
Prince Lakes Town Council At-Large — 2 seats
State convention delegates/local precinct committeeman
Blue River Township Republican State Convention Delegates: District 1 — 9 seats
Clark/Pleasant Townships Republican State Convention Delegates: District 2 — 10 seats
White River Township Republican State Convention Delegates: District 3 — 10 seats
Franklin/Needham Townships Republican State Convention Delegates: District 4 — 9 seats
Nineveh/Hensley/Union Townships Republican State Convention Delegates: District 5 — 9 seats
Democrat State Convention Delegate: At-Large — 36 seats
Precinct Committeeman At-Large (Republicans only) — All precincts
School board (General Election only)
Center Grove School Board At-Large — 2 seats
Clark-Pleasant School Board: Pleasant Township — 1 seat
Clark-Pleasant School Board At-Large — 1 seat
Edinburgh School Board At-Large — 2 seats
Franklin Community School Board: City of Franklin — 2 seats
Franklin Community School Board: Franklin Township — 1 seat
Greenwood Community School Board: District 1 — 1 seat
Greenwood Community School Board: District 3 — 1 seat
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson School Board: Nineveh Township (only Nineveh Twp. votes) — 1 seat
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson School Board At-Large — 2 seats
