If all politics is local, as Tip O’Neill, longtime speaker of the U.S. House, used to say, then they don’t get any more local than Tuesday’s municipal primaries. Local folks will be deciding which other local folks should move on to the fall general election and then subsequently make decisions that will have a direct bearing on their lives and their pocketbooks.
While there is no marquee race, as neither the mayor of Franklin nor Greenwood faces a challenge in the Republican primary, there are contested contests in Greenwood, Whiteland and Franklin.
If you live in New Whiteland, Bargersville, Trafalgar or Edinburgh, you won’t vote on Tuesday because there are no contested races on the ballot. And if you live in unincorporated portions of the county, you will sit out the fall election, as well, as this election is only for offices in incorporated municipalities.
A dearth of races is no reason to sit the primary out. Indeed, it is all the more reason to take part. These races truly will be elections where every vote counts. Some might be decided by just a handful of votes, so it is critically important that people go to the polls on Tuesday or visit one of the early polling sites this weekend.
If you want to know who will be on the ballot, you find that information on the Indiana secretary of state’s website at indianavoters.in.gov.
Detailed information on where the various candidates in contested races stand on a variety of issues is available through the Where They Stand features we ran in the weeks leading up to the primary. You can see those online at dailyjournal.net.
Finally, remember that you need to take a government-issued photo ID to the polls with you when you go to vote. If you don’t have one, Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles branches will offer extended hours Monday and Tuesday specifically to help people obtain driver’s licenses or state ID cards.
We encourage you to participate in the electoral process this spring and become engaged in our community.
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Municipal primaries traditionally see the fewest voters casting ballots.
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Because of the potential low number of votes cast, it is vital that people in affected areas cast their ballots.
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