Johnson County tied with three other counties on one of the lowest turnouts in this year’s primary election.
With 18 percent of voters casting a ballot, the county ranked No. 6 in lowest turnout, and was below the state average of 20 percent, according to data from the Indiana Secretary of State’s office.
Across the state, more than 870,000 voters cast a ballot in this year’s primary election.
In some counties, turnout was high, with 57 percent of voters casting ballots in Jay County, for example.
Johnson County was one of 22 counties in the state whose turnout was below the state average. The lowest turnout was in Vanderburgh County, where 10 percent of voters cast a ballot, according to the state.
Among central Indiana counties, Johnson County had the second lowest turnout, after Marion County, where 16 percent of voters cast a ballot.
Local election officials repeatedly encouraged voters to cast a ballot, especially with multiple contested races, including sheriff, county commissioner and council, judge and state representative.
Election Day turnout was more than officials had predicted, when just under 14,000 people came out to cast a ballot, leading to unexpected lines at vote centers. At some centers, voting continued until well past the time polls closed.
Officials had been concerned turnout may not even reach 10 percent when early voting was lower than expected.
But the county’s early voting turnout was about 25 percent — higher than the state, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Statewide, the turnout for early voting reached 20 percent this year. That number has grown year after year, with 11 percent voting before Election Day in the 2010 primary, and 16 percent in 2014, according to the secretary of state’s office.
In Johnson County, early voting has grown from 9 percent in the 2010 primary and 23 percent in the 2014 primary.
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Here is a look at turnout in the primary election in central Indiana counties:
Boone;22 percent
Hamilton;19 percent
Hancock;25 percent
Hendricks;22 percent
Johnson;18 percent
Marion;16 percent
Morgan;24 percent
Shelby;23 percent
Statewide;20 percent
Source: Indiana Secretary of State’s office
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