Indiana early voting total tops 1.25M the week before Election Day

Lydia Gerike
Indianapolis Star

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More than 1.25 million Hoosiers have cast their ballots with less than a week left until Election Day, according to the Secretary of State's Office on Wednesday.

The number of in-person voters is at 807,519, with more than 450,000 voting by mail, traveling board or other methods.

The turnout continues to top Indiana's records in previous presidential election years and follows a trend of increased early voting nationwide. 

The Marion County Clerk's Office said 65,517 people had voted in person as of Tuesday night. This number is more than double what it was at the same point in in 2016, when only 30,024 people had voted in person.

Daily totals for in-person voting increased sharply over the weekend, which Deputy Clerk Russell Hollis said is because of additional satellite voting locations opening. 

While at least 1,200 people have voted each day since early voting began, that number increased to more than 8,200 people per day. Tuesday had the highest turnout yet with almost 10,500 voters.

Marion County on Tuesday expanded early voting hours at the City-County Building. It will now be open Oct. 28 to Oct. 30 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Nov. 2 from 8 a.m. until noon.

An additional 71,689 mail-in ballots have been returned to the county, which equals about 75% of the 95,167 total ballots requested. In 2016, Marion County received just 14,643 mail-in ballots. 

By Tuesday night, 102,881 people had voted absentee in Hamilton County, marking a 39.1% turnout for the county already. By comparison, total turnout hit 68.5% for both the 2012 and 2016 elections.

The number of absentee-by-mail ballots returned reached 38,969, with another 63,912 people voting in person.

Johnson County has had 34,174 in-person early voters and has received another 12,541 ballots in the mail.

Hoosiers who want to vote early still have time and options to do so, but they should be aware of recent changes and the nearness of Election Day.

"We should really put that sense of urgency on voters that they are running out of time," said Hollis.

Mail-in ballots can still be completed, but they should be hand-delivered to ensure they are received on time. Voters can take these ballots to monitored drop off bins set up by their counties or hand their absentee ballot to an election worker at an early voting site.

Marion County voters can also drop off their ballot to a USPS employee starting Saturday at the downtown Indianapolis post office at 125 W. South Street.

The ballot collection will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 3 to 10 p.m. Monday and 8 to 10 a.m. on Election Day.

Contact Pulliam Fellow Lydia Gerike at lgerike@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @LydiaGerike.