With fewer early voters and more than 11,000 of the county’s registered voters choosing to vote by mail, election officials suspect that may be a good predictor for voter turnout on Election Day.
About 1,000 voters had cast in-person ballots by Friday afternoon, after four days of early voting at three locations, said Trena McLaughlin, Johnson County clerk. By comparison, more than 12,000 people voted early during the 2016 presidential primary.
The lower turnout is likely due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. More than 11,000 Johnson County voters are registered to vote by mail, which was encouraged by local and state election officials, McLaughlin said.
It is tradition for the county clerk to predict overall voter turnout. But it is just not possible in this election, she said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“We have never had an election like this before; we’ve never had a pandemic,” McLaughlin said. “Voters are concerned, they are being cautious and that’s why they are voting by mail.”
Another factor that may contribute to a lower turnout is the lack of options in the races for U.S. President. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are the only candidates still seeking nominations for the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, although more names will appear on the ballots. During the 2016 presidential primary, voters had their choice of four Republicans and three Democrats, she said.
Counting thousands of ballots
The Johnson County Clerk’s Office could potentially have more than 11,000 absentee ballots to count starting at 6 a.m. on Election Day, and it will take hours—maybe days—to count every one. About 1,200 Johnson County voters applied to vote absentee in 2016; nearly 10 times that number of people applied to vote by mail in this election. As of Friday, more than 8,500 ballots had been returned, McLaughlin said.
Indiana law prohibits processing mail-in ballots before Election Day, so votes can’t be counted until Tuesday.
Despite that impressive number of absentee ballots, McLaughlin expects poll workers to have everything counted by the end of the day Tuesday, but the state is giving all counties until Friday to count ballots.
When a ballot is received, it is immediately sprayed with disinfectant. Each individual ballot has to be checked in. On Election Day, there will be 20 canvassing board members first checking signatures on each ballot, then counting each ballot by running it through a machine, a time-consuming process, said McLaughlin, who isn’t sure how long it will take to count thousands of ballots.
“We’ve never done something like this before … does it take an hour or two hours to count 1,000 ballots? That’s the question I have,” she said.
Counties across the state will enter uncharted waters this election, having received thousands more absentee ballots than usual. Nearby Marion County has received more than 123,000 applications for absentee ballots. Marion County Clerk Myla Eldridge told state officials in a letter Thursday she expects thousands of votes may not be counted because her staff is having trouble processing the applications. She also expects Marion County will be counting ballots after Election Day.
This could cause problems in calling state races that encompass Johnson and Marion counties, including the Indiana House District 93 and Indiana Senate District 36 races.
However, the highly-contested Indiana House District 58 race should not be impacted because the district is only in Johnson County, McLaughlin said.
The District 58 race for retired Rep. Woody Burton’s seat in the Indiana General Assembly is one of the county’s biggest races, she said. Five well-known candidates are on the Republican ballot for the seat, with Democrat Cindy Reinert running uncontested.
Another important race is Johnson County Council At-Large. Six Republicans are running for three seats.
Mail-in ballots causing some headaches
Whiteland residents Vicki and Jeff Stafford applied online for an absentee ballot May 18, but had not received their ballots in the mail as of Friday. They both wanted to vote by mail due to their schedules, and Vicki Stafford hoped to avoid going out and possibly exposing her 92-year-old mother to the virus.
With Election Day quickly approaching, the Staffords will have to figure out a way to vote in person either today or Monday, Vicki Stafford said.
“I was hoping this would work out, but I guess we’ll have to figure out a way to go vote,” she said. “We won’t get it in time to mail it now.”
McLaughlin received a few calls from residents who had not received requested ballots, and those voters will need to vote in person at the polls, McLaughlin said. This also goes for voters whose mailed ballot doesn’t make it to the clerk’s office by noon Tuesday, the deadline for it to be counted. If a voter decides to vote in person, they will still have to vote in the party they requested on their absentee ballot, she pointed out.
Ballots can also be hand-delivered to the clerk’s office until noon Tuesday.
A different kind of Election Day
Undoubtedly, Election Day will look different this year than it has in the past. First, the number of polling locations were cut in half due to the pandemic, with 10 vote centers open on Election Day rather than the 22 election officials initially planned for. The voting machines will also be different for those who haven’t voted since the 2016 presidential elections. The county purchased new machines last year.
The VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) machines were used only for early voting this year, and those worked great as well, McLaughlin said.
Of course the biggest change is that social distancing will be strictly enforced for those who come to cast a ballot in person on Election Day. Voters will be instructed to stand in lines at least six feet apart, and tape markings will be placed inside and outside of vote centers to show people where to stand. Additional poll workers will be tasked with making sure voters follow these guidelines at the polls, she said.
Inside vote centers, all poll workers will wear masks, hand sanitizer stations will be placed throughout the buildings and each voting machine will be disinfected after each use. Some vote centers will have separate entrances and exits. Voters are encouraged to wear masks, but they are not required.
Plastic sneeze-guards are set up at the check-in tables, keeping voters and poll workers safe, and voters have to place their own IDs in the electronic pollbook holder when checking in so workers do not have to touch it, McLaughlin said.
“It’s not going to take any longer to vote,” she said. “They’re going to bring their ID, and we’re going to get them to a machine and get them voting.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at when and where you can still cast your ballot early:
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
Today, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday, 8:30 a.m. to noon
Greenwood Public Library, 310 S. Meridian St., Greenwood
Today, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
White River Public Library, 1664 Library Blvd, Greenwood
Today, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at the number of early voters in the 2020 and 2016 presidential primary elections:
2020: 1,194
2016: 12,222
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”SEE INSIDE” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
LIST OF CANDIDATES; HOW-TO-VOTE GUIDE; FAQ
[sc:pullout-text-end]
