More than 17,000 Johnson County residents have already made their pick for who should lead the sheriff’s office, have a say in the United States Senate and make decisions regarding school spending.
In the coming days, the rest of the voters will head to one of 21 vote center to make decisions in key races that will affect communities, schools, public safety and national issues for the next four years.
Turnout has already hit more than 16 percent; 103,957 Johnson County residents are registered to vote in this election.
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Locally, voters will choose a new sheriff, clerk, auditor, recorder, school board members, township board members, state representatives and U.S. representatives. Depending on where you live, you may get to vote in a referendum that will determine whether property taxes go up to pay for increased school security and another that could change the way your local fire department is controlled.
One of the races on every local ballot has garnered national attention as the fight for which party gets control of the U.S. Senate continues.
Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is trying to fend off Republican businessman Mike Braun in a state that Trump won by 19 percentage points. Donnelly is Indiana’s lone Democrat elected statewide and has sought to align himself with Trump on the hot-button issue of expanding the border wall with Mexico. He has portrayed himself as a moderate who works with both parties to pass legislation.
Braun has sought to question Donnelly’s independence and describes him as a career politician. He notes that Donnelly supported Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency and sided with the vast majority of Democratic senators in voting against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Republicans have a huge advantage as they seek to hold or expand their 51-49 Senate majority, with the battle for control running mostly through states that President Donald Trump won in 2016.
Locally, school board and township advisory board races have the most candidates, and multiple public questions on the ballot in the Whiteland area have some voters confused and taking longer to cast ballots, Johnson County Clerk Sue Ann Misiniec said earlier this week.
Residents of Clark and Pleasant Townships are seeing a question on their ballots about whether to approve a property tax increase that would raise up to $12 million to improve safety and security inside the schools, including a full-time police force, mental health program and high-tech security system that would be monitored around the clock.
Voting yes to the referendum would raise property taxes for homeowners and business owners in the district by about 10 cents for every $100 of assessed value. For the owner of a $123,500 home, which is the median home value in the school district, the increase would cost them about $48 more in property taxes each year, according to the campaign’s website.
Voting no would mean school officials may not be able to implement these kinds of programs. If they do, they’ll have to do it on a smaller scale and at a slower pace. School board members have said they would move forward with a high-tech security monitoring system whether the referendum passes or not. But they likely wouldn’t be able to fund nine full-time police officers — one in each building — or a mental health program, at least not right away.
Whiteland residents are seeing another question on their ballots about whether to dissolve the local fire district’s board of trustees and allow the town to control the Whiteland Fire Department.
Seventy-six candidates are vying for seats in 26 contested races on the ballots in Johnson County; 124 candidates are running in this election.
A number of Democrats are trying their hand this election at taking traditionally Republican-dominated, county-wide seats.
In the popular sheriff’s race, outsider and Democrat Jason Boudi is taking on longtime sheriff’s deputy and Republican Duane Burgess. A major issue for whoever wins this post will be what to do about overcrowding in the jail, which Burgess is currently in charge of.
The new Johnson Circuit Court judge will also help the county determine what to do about the overcrowded jail. Democrat Steven Kennedy, an attorney at a private law firm, is competing for the seat against Republican Andrew Roesener, the juvenile court magistrate.
The races for county clerk and recorder are also contested.
School board seats in five out of the six public school districts have multiple candidates as well, although school board races are non-partisan.
In Clark-Pleasant, eight candidates are running for 3 open seats on the school board. In Center Grove, five candidates are running for three at-large seats. In Edinburgh, three candidates are running for one at-large seat.
More than 20 races are uncontested including Superior Court No. 1 judge, prosecutor, auditor, assessor and township trustee positions.
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Counties across the country are experiencing an unusually high early voting turnout for a non-presidential election. In Johnson County, more than 17,000 people had already cast ballots on Friday afternoon, with two more days of early voting yet to go.
Here is a look at Johnson County early voting numbers in the past six general elections:
2016 (presidential); 21,681
2014; 3,981
2012 (presidential); 20,466
2010; 4,321
2008 (presidential); 10,435
2006; 2,141
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