Early voting numbers good in Owen County

Amanda York, Evening World
·3 min read
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If early voting numbers are any indication, Owen County, despite it being a mid-term election, may be well on it's way to a very good turnout this cycle.

Unofficial numbers, as of late afternoon Friday, Oct 28, have over 1000 voters casting their ballots early via machine. These numbers, according to the Owen County Election Division, don't include mailed in ballots. Early voters are steadily streaming in as election day looms. Voters per day were in the 60s the week of Oct. 17 and now have bumped to 90-plus early voters per day. With roughly 15,000 registered voters in the county, and if trends continue, about 10-percent of registered voters will have voted early locally.

These numbers are good news considering the lack of contested local races and no presidential race on the ballot.

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The local races that are contested include the following. The race for Owen County Commissioner, District 1 will be up for grabs. This race features Democrat candidate Sandra Wood and Libertarian candidate Chad Vanryn take on Republican incumbent Gary Burton.

Also at the county level, two of the four County Council seats are contested. In District 2, incumbent Anton K. Neff (D) will face challenger Gary DuBois (R) and in District 4, incumbent Verl Keith (R) will face Libertarian challenger Rachel Combs.

Only two of the township trustee races are opposed. Janet (Gandy) Paris (D) will take on Barron Eugene Barnett (R) for Jackson Township trustee and E. Thomasina Marsili (D) will face M. Sue Carpenter (R) for Montgomery Township trustee.

Only one township board race is opposed. Washington Township features five candidates and only three can be elected. Candidates include Angie Bault (D), George Brinson (D), Daniel L. Melton (R), Suzanne Simmerman (R) and Marilyn Truesdel (R).

In the Cloverdale School Board races, Aragon Gould will face Vivian Whitaker and Emily A. Haltom will take on Carol A. Pennington. Local Spencer-Owen school board candidates are running unopposed.

At the state level, incumbent Bob Heaton (R) is squaring off with challenger Kurtis J. Cummings (D) for State Representative. Eric Bassler is running unopposed for State Senator.

In the state treasurer race, Jessica McClellan (D) is facing Daniel Elliott (R) in the general election. The race for state auditor will feature ZeNai Brooks (D), Tera K. Klutz (R) and John Andrew Schick (L). The final state race on the local ballot will be for Secretary of State and will have five candidates. Democrat Destiny Wells will go up against Republican Diego Morales, Libertarian Jeffrey Maurer, and write in candidates Andrew Straw (Disability), and David Wetterer (Green).

There are two national races on the ballot. In the election to represent Indiana's 8th district as the US Representative, incumbent Larry D. Buschon (R) will face Ray McCormick (D) and Andrew Horning (L).

The office of US Senator will be incumbent Todd Young (R) against Thomas M. McDerott, Jr. (D), James M. Sceniak (L) and several write-in candidates including Thomas Baer (Independent), Phillip Beachy (I), Haneefah Khaaliq (I), David G. Stoner (I), Danny Niederberger (Other) and Antonio Xavier Alvarez (Political Synergy).

The election will take place on Tuesday, November 8 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at any vote center location. Vote centers are located at Faith Baptist Church (11612 State Hwy 243, Cloverdale); Millgrove United Methodist Church (11151 Millgrove Rd, Quincy); Lighthouse Fellowship Church (5392 State Hwy 67, Gosport); Clay Twp Fire Dept. (5663 St Hwy 43, Spencer); Freedom Community Center (5552 (Freedom Arney Rd, Freedom); Jefferson Baptist Church (4019 Main St, Coal City); Garrard Chapel Church (7410 W. State Rd 46, Bowling Green); and Spencer Nazarene Church, 126 E. Market St, Spencer).

Absentee or early voting at the courthouse will continue from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., through Friday, November 4. On the Monday before election day, early voting will be from 8 a.m. until noon. The Saturday before election day, early voting will be from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Any questions can be directed to the Owen County Clerk's Office at 812-829-5015 or the Owen County Voter Registration Office at 812-829-5028.

This article originally appeared on Evening World: Early voting numbers good in Owen County