In the final weeks before the deadline, voters are scrambling to make sure they are registered to vote and that their information is up to date for the fall election.
At the beginning of the week, the county received about 1,000 new or updated voter registration applications, and another 200 during the next two days.
The deadline to register is Oct. 11.
More applications are expected next week, and the county is processing the paperwork from residents as quickly as they can. By Thursday, the county still had more than 1,200 to process, deputy clerk Reagan Higdon said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe numbers are an indication of the interest in voting this year, Clerk Susie Misiniec said. The numbers are also up because of a recent advertising and social media campaign by the state to get people to register, she said.
How many of the county’s more than 105,000 voters will cast a ballot this fall is not yet known, but officials hope at least 15 percent of them — or more than 15,000 — will vote before Election Day.
“If you have in your mind who you are going to vote for and you have your mind up, just go vote,” Misiniec said.
Otherwise, expect to wait in long lines on Election Day, she said.
The county is preparing to begin early voting Oct. 12. Voting will begin on weekdays at the courthouse, and in the final weeks before voting, more locations will be opened.
Exactly how many election workers and voting machines each site will have will be decided based on early turnout numbers, Misiniec said.
Officials have already decided to put double the number of workers and machines at two of the most popular voting sites, at Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria in Greenwood and Mount Pleasant Christian Church in the Center Grove area both on Election Day and during early voting. But more machines and workers could also be sent to other locations based on the number of voters casting ballots, she said.
This fall, the county is opening two more voting centers on Election Day. And four early voting sites will be open the week before Election Day and the two weekends before.
Election officials are trying to plan ahead as much as possible, Misiniec said.
But some issues won’t be known until voting begins at the courthouse, such as if turnout is higher than officials had predicted, she said. In past elections, early voting turnout has not been as high as what other counties see, she said.
Misiniec hoped for at least 10 percent of voters to cast their ballots early in the primary election. Early voting turnout was 10 percent.
But she is also encouraged by the number of voters who have already requested paper ballots to be mailed to them, which has topped 600 so far, she said.
“That is another sign that people want to vote,” she said.
“It’s exciting and it’s getting here and I am just on pins and needles; are we prepared enough?”
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The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 11. Here is how to register or update your registration information in time for the general election this fall:
In person:
Visit any Bureau of Motor Vehicles location, library branch or the Johnson County Voter Registration office in the basement of the courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin. Forms must be turned in by 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.
By mail:
Mail your completed form by Oct. 11 to:
Johnson County Voter Registration
P.O. Box 451
Franklin, IN 46131
Online:
Go to IndianaVoters.com to register online or make sure your registration is up to date. Your registration must be updated or turned in by midnight Oct. 11.
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Here is a look at where and when you can vote early:
Weekdays, beginning Oct. 12, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
Oct. 31 through Nov. 4, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria, 100 Byrd Way, Greenwood
Franklin Community Center, 396 Branigan Blvd., Franklin
Mount Pleasant Christian Church, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar
Saturday Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mount Pleasant Christian Church
Trafalgar Public Library
Jonathon Byrd’s Cafeteria
Johnson County Courthouse
Edinburgh Public Library, 119 W. Main Cross St, Edinburgh
Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Greenwood Village South Retirement Community, 295 Village Lane, Greenwood
Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Franklin United Methodist Community, 1070 W. Jefferson St., Franklin
Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Compass Park, formerly Indiana Masonic Home, 690 State St., Franklin
Nov. 7, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Johnson County Courthouse
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