Early voting off to steady start in Southern Indiana

Brooke McAfee, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·3 min read

Oct. 31—SOUTHERN INDIANA — Many Southern Indiana residents are casting their votes early in the election next Tuesday.

Early voting began Oct. 12, and it will end Monday at noon in Clark and Floyd counties.

Turnout has been steady so far in Floyd County. According to Floyd County Clerk Danita Burks, 8,250 people have already cast their ballots between mail-in absentee ballots and in-person early voting.

On Saturday, 882 people voted early, and on average, there have been more than 400 people a day casting ballots at the two early voting sites, she said.

In the 2018 general election, there were 15,017 early votes and absentee votes, Burks said.

In Clark County, 4,700 have voted early between mail-in votes and walk-in early votes, according to Clark County Clerk Susan Popp.

"In 2018, which was a comparable election, it was a little over 8,000," she said. "But the last week is really a big push, so I would say we're somewhat on track. At least in the past, it has been that big push at the very end, and I assume that's going to happen again."

In Floyd County, early voting is open at the Floyd County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2818 Green Valley Road in New Albany, and View Golf Course, 3748 Lawrence Banet Road in Floyds Knobs.

On Election Day, registered voters in Floyd County can cast their ballots at any of the nine vote centers, which include the 4-H Fairgrounds, Valley View, New Albany High School, Prosser Career Education Center, Scribner Middle School, Georgetown Elementary, Greenville Elementary, Floyd Central High School and Slate Run Elementary.

Early voting is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Saturday, and it is open Monday, Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to noon.

In Clark County, registered voters can cast their ballots early at the Clark County Courthouse at 501 E. Court Ave. Early voting is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week and this Saturday. It will also be open Monday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon.

In Clark County, voters will cast their ballots at designated precincts on Election Day.

Absentee ballots must be received by county election officials no later than 6 p.m. on Election Day.

Burks said the New Albany-Floyd County school board races and the Floyd County sheriff races have been drawing a lot of interest among voters this year.

As people prepare to vote on Election Day, Burks encourages them to have their identification ready at the polls to help expedite the process. She is expecting a busy Election Day.

"Opening up the seven schools plus the two sites that we've had, I expect it to be pretty busy at each site," she said.

Popp notes that the Clark County Clerk's office will present an informational session 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Jeffersonville Township Public Library to discuss voting.

"It's really addressing voting laws in Clark County and the process, because I think there's still a lot of questions about, when I vote absentee, who handles my ballot and things like that," she said.

Both Burks and Popp say they are in good shape in terms of the number of poll workers signed up to work Election Day in Clark and Floyd counties.

Across the county, many polling sites are adding extra security measures due to increased levels of harassment toward election workers, but local clerks are not expecting any problems in Southern Indiana.

Popp said there are emergency procedures that can be "put in place very quickly" in Clark County if any issues come up in terms of security at polling sites, but she does not think it will be an issue. Election officials "will be monitoring that with caution," she said.

Burks does not foresee any issues in Floyd County, but she believes local law enforcement would respond in "record time" if a security issue did come up at a polling site.