Staff at the county clerk and voter registration offices are scratching their heads trying to figure out why so many people are voting early this election.
On Wednesday, the first day of early voting, 332 county residents cast ballots at the Johnson County courthouse. Voters topped that number on Thursday when 379 people voted early. They were on track to top Thursday’s number on Friday; 373 people had already voted by 2:30 p.m.
That brings the total number of early voters to more than 1,000 for the first week, which is more than nine times the number of people who voted during the first week of early voting in the last midterm election. In 2014, 121 voters cast ballots during the first week.
This is a non-presidential election, and the county does not have a hot ticket, Clerk Sue Ann Misiniec said Friday. So it must be the state senate race between Mike Braun and Joe Donnelly that’s bringing so many people out, she said.
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"This will be my eighth election as clerk and I just don’t know what’s happening," Misiniec said.
Maybe it’s carry over from the controversy surrounding the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination. Or maybe it’s because of an influx of political ads this election, she said.
Election officials hope to see a strong turnout in every election, and the first indication is how many people vote early.
Early voter turnout has fluctuated in recent years. In the 2016 presidential election, 32 percent of voters voted early, breaking a record for Johnson County. But overall, few people had taken advantage of early voting, until now. In the primary election this spring, about 4,000 people — or 22 percent of people who voted — did so early.
The voter registration office has also received a significantly higher-than-usual volume of voters requesting mailed ballots. They have sent out more than 1,000 so far.
"I’m sitting here thinking, on Election Day, are we just going to be sitting there twiddling our thumbs?" Misiniec said.
They expect that this week the lines will start to taper off, but they can’t be sure, she said.
"The thing is, every election is different. You try your best to anticipate what the voters are going to do, but the truth is, it’s always a surprise. I mean, this is certainly not what we expected," Misiniec said.
The lines at the courthouse have been long, but not so long that people are waiting an hour or more to cast their ballots. Only one early voting site is open right now, and it’s mostly voter registration employees who are manning it. Four other sites will open in the coming weeks leading up to Election Day.
As of Friday, Misiniec had no plans to open more sites, change times or bring in more volunteers. For now, they’ll just go with the flow, she said.
"We’re trying to get them through as quickly as we can. But obviously, we can only do so much. I don’t want to discourage people from coming out. The more we can get to come through early, the better," she said.
Other central Indiana counties are seeing similar turnouts.
In Hamilton County, 584 people voted on the first day of early voting, up from 61 on the first day of early voting in 2014, Election Administrator Kathy Richardson said.
They continued that trend Thursday and Friday.
In Bartholomew County, four times as many residents cast ballots on the first day of early voting compared to the last midterm election, the Republic reported. On Wednesday, 160 voters cast ballots.
In Hendricks County, 334 people voted on Wednesday, the first day of early voting. On Thursday, 301 voters cast ballots. The voter registration office has received requests for 1,260 mailed ballots, Hendricks County Clerk Debbie Hoskins said Friday.
Hendricks County was close to beating its first-day record set during the 2016 presidential election, when 358 people turned out for day one of early voting, she said.
The Johnson County courthouse is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays for early voting. It will also be open on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 — both are Saturdays — and until noon on Nov. 5, the day before Election Day.
The Trafalgar Public Library, Edinburgh Public Library, Vineyard Christian Church in Greenwood and Mount Pleasant Christian Church, also in Greenwood, are other places residents can vote early in the coming weeks. You can vote at any of the locations regardless of your address, as long as you live in Johnson County.
None of the votes are counted until Election Day, Misiniec said.
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Here is a look at where and when you can cast your ballot early:
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3
8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nov. 5
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower Street, Trafalgar
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2
Vineyard Christian Church, 512 S. Madison Ave, Greenwood
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2
Edinburgh Public Library, 119 W. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2
Mount Pleasant Christian Church, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3
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