Voters are still coming out in droves to cast their ballots early, and election officials are scrambling to keep up.
County election officials are adding poll workers and machines at vote centers on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday — the final days leading up to Election Day on Tuesday — as early voter turnout continues to surprise them, Clerk Sue Ann Misiniec said.
The basement of the Johnson County Courthouse was crowded and security personnel swamped on Monday afternoon as people filed in to vote early, something that didn’t seem to catch on until this election, she said.
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Nearly 2,000 people voted on Saturday at the four vote centers that were open, bringing the total number of voters to more than 8,300 by Monday. Some voters waited in line for two hours on Saturday, the first day that vote centers other than the courthouse were open. Five centers will be open this Saturday.
In the primary election this spring, 18,537 people voted. About 4,000 voted early.
Election officials had already decided to double staff on Election Day based on the turnout in the primary election. But they didn’t think they would need to add staff for early voting — until Saturday.
“We knew we’d have a lot of people, but that just blew us out of the water,” Misiniec said.
Election officials have asked local party officials for two additional poll workers at every vote center in the final days of early voting. They expect a similar turnout this weekend, she said.
They also decided to add more touch-screen voting machines at the vote centers. How many depends on the size and expected turnout at each location.
They had to add machines on Saturday at Vineyard Christian Church, which is a hot spot for the north side of the county, Misiniec said. They plan to add at least eight more machines in the coming days: four at Mt. Pleasant Christian Church; two at Trafalgar Public Library; and two more at Vineyard Christian Church.
They will add five to 20 machines at each vote center on Election Day, depending on the size of the facility and expected turnout based on past elections, she said.
Adding machines to voting sites in the final days before the election is something they’ve had to do in the past, but not to this extent, she said. Voters are taking longer to get through the ballot this election due to three different public questions.
“People just don’t understand them and then that filters back and holds up the line,” Misiniec said.
If early voting numbers are any indication as to what is going to happen on Election Day, voter turnout in this midterm election may be similar to what it was in the 2016 presidential election, something that is highly unusual, Misiniec said.
In the 2016 general election, 67,754 people voted for a turnout of 63 percent of registered voters.
“We may end up with the same percentage,” she said. “Now what’s going to happen on Election Day? This is happening nationwide.”
A week ago, early voting turnout had already prompted election officials nationwide to forecast a midterm election turnout not seen in decades, with Republicans and Democrats demonstrating engaged bases on each end of the political spectrum.
That level of enthusiasm — turnout is well ahead of the 2014 pace — makes it difficult to predict final outcomes on Nov. 6, as Republicans try to defend their Capitol Hill majorities, while Democrats try to upend the all-GOP government and narrow GOP advantages in statehouses.
Still, the numbers affirm what is already known about the Donald Trump era: It’s intense.
Some forecasters are predicting turnout could end up approaching 50 percent, levels not reached since the midterms between 1962-1970 — years, perhaps not coincidentally, that spanned a political turbulent era.
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There are still a few more opportunities to vote early before Election Day on Tuesday. Here is a look at when and where you can cast your ballot early:
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Today, Thursday and Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower Street, Trafalgar
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Vineyard Christian Church, 512 S. Madison Ave, Greenwood
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Edinburgh Public Library, 119 W. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Mount Pleasant Christian Church, 381 N. Bluff Road, Greenwood
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
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