Indiana's early voting numbers double since last presidential election

Ballots cast — by mail and in person — in the first week of early voting are more than double what they were in the 2012 presidential primary, according to the most recent comparative numbers available from the state election division.

Eight days after voting opened on April 5, 60,302 people had voted. That compares with just under 29,000 for the same eight-day period in 2012 – the last presidential election year.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson attributed the rise to the rare situation in which Indiana now finds itself: Holding a contested primary election that could shape the presidential race.

“I think we’re going to see unprecedented voter turnout,” said Lawson, the state’s chief election officer.

Driving the numbers:

• The quest for the Democratic nomination between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

• And the fight for the Republican bid, among celebrity mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Because of Indiana’s late place in the primary season, state Democrats haven’t seen a competitive contest since 2008, when Clinton narrowly beat then candidate Barack Obama.

For Republicans, this is the first seriously contested presidential primary race in 40 years.

Indiana has been moving to make early voting much easier, pushing both absentee ballots sent by mail and in-person votes cast at local clerks’ offices and voting centers.

County officials on the front line of early voting are seeing evidence of the intense interest.

“Back in 2012, we’d see 5 to 10 people a day,” Vigo County Clerk Dave Crockett said of early voters. “Now we’re averaging 45 to 48 people a day.”

“That’s a lot,” he added. “And that’s good.”

Clerks like Crockett have been pushing early voting, concerned about the potential for long lines on election day, when polls open at 6 a.m. and close 12 hours later.

In 2014, the county moved away from voting by precinct and to centralized voting centers, reducing the number of polling places from 83 to 19.

But turnout for midterm primary elections in 2014, with few contested offices across the state, was at a near-record low of only 13 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot.

The coming primary, on May 3, will look much different, given the presidential contest and the national media attention about to descend on the state.

That’s why Elkhart County Clerk Wendy Hudson sent out postcards to all voters in her county early this month, urging them to vote early to avoid frustratingly long lines that might drive them away.

“The first day those postcards hit the mailbox, we had people coming in to vote,” she said.

She was happy to see it, given the intensity of the presidential election and the high interest among voters.

“I tell people, come in early in order to make sure you get to vote and avoid the explosion of voters on election day,” Hudson said.