GREENFIELD — More than 200 Hancock County residents decided to skip long lines and cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 6 Election Day as early voting kicked off this week across Indiana.
On Wednesday — the first day of early voting — 128 people voted at the Hancock County Courthouse, while another 99 residents voted at McCordsville Town Hall, according to Hancock County Clerk Marcia Moore.
That’s more early voters than Moore expected. Typically, early voting has started off slow and gained momentum as Election Day nears, she said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryHancock County first started using vote centers for early voting in 2014; and as local voters have gotten used to the system, more and more have taken advantage of it, according to statistics kept by the secretary of state.
In the May primary, 4,600 people voted early in Hancock County. By comparison, during the 2010 midterm primary when vote centers hadn’t been enacted, only 1,000 early votes were cast, records show.
In the 2016 presidential election, early ballots surpassed those cast on Election Day in Hancock County, records show. Some 25,400 residents voted early compared to 11,500 who voted in person on Election Day.
Hundreds more voters are expected to cast early ballots in coming weeks as early voting continues at the courthouse and in McCordsville through noon on Nov. 5; two additional early voting sites at the Greenfield and New Palestine branches of the Hancock County Public Library will open Oct. 27.
Joseph Merriman was among the first 60 people to cast ballots Wednesday morning at the courthouse. The Greenfield resident said he votes early before he travels to Florida for the winter.
“It’s very convenient,” Merriman said.
Kathy and Darrel Hisle of Greenfield voted just before noon on Wednesday at the courthouse.
Darrel Hisle voted as a straight-ticket Democrat, he said. Kathy Hisle said she’s usually too busy to vote in November, so she wanted to vote as soon as possible.
“I want to make sure I got my vote in there,” she said.
During this year’s election, the county is piloting new touchscreen voting machines for early voting at the courthouse and McCordsville Town Hall. Moore said the equipment runs much faster than voters filling out a paper ballot. The machine also prints out a computer-generated paper ballot as a backup. A poll worker on Wednesday gave instructions to each voter on how to use the machine.
Merriman said the new system was much easier to read and understand than the traditional paper ballots. Kathy Hisle agreed, adding that she was able to navigate the machine well even though she admits she’s not computer savvy.
Moore, who’s the Republican candidate for county recorder this election, said she hopes the next county clerk as well as the county commissioners and council will notice the benefits of the touchscreen machines and take steps to implement the equipment for future elections.
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227 people voted Wednesday, the first day of early voting
128 people voted at the Hancock County Courthouse
99 people voted at McCordsville Town Hall
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Early voting is now available at the Hancock County Courthouse in Greenfield and at McCordsville Town Hall, located at 6280 W. County Road 800N.
Polls at these locations are open on weekdays between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3. Early voting ends at noon Nov. 5 at these locations.
Two additional early voting sites at the Hancock County Public Library branches in Greenfield, 900 W. McKenzie Road, and in New Palestine, 5087 W. U.S. 52, will open later this month, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4.
Polls at these locations will be open from 1-6 p.m. on weekdays; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.
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Voting on Election Day, Nov. 6, will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:
Adaggios, 5999 Memory Lane, Greenfield.
Bell Mortuary, 1512 W. U.S. 52, Finly.
Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church, 994 N. County Road 600E, Greenfield.
Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, 3519 S. County Road 600W, New Palestine.
Fortville Community Center, 3519 S. County Road 600W, New Palestine.
Hancock County Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield.
Hancock County Fairgrounds, 620 N. Apple St., Greenfield.
Hancock County Public Library, 900 W. McKenzie Road, Greenfield.
McCordsville Town Hall, 6280 W. County Road 800N, McCordsville.
Ninestar Connect, 2331 E. County Road 600N, Greenfield.
Vineyard Community Church, 1672 N. County Road 600W, Greenfield.
Wilkinson Church of Christ, 7293 N. Indiana 109, Wilkinson.
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There are 10 contested local races on ballots in Hancock County this election.
County Clerk
Lisa Eberhardt Lofgreen (R)
Kim Lozier (D)
County Recorder
Marcia Moore (R)
Rita Johnson (D)
County Commissioner, District 2
Marc Huber (R)
Zachary Lafavers (D)
County Council, District 3
Jim Shelby (R)
Randy Johnson (D)
Jackson Township Trustee
Matthew L. Heath (R)
Trina Mayhew (D)
Brown Township Board (Three open seats)
Mark Grass (R)
Vergil Terry Kemp (R)
Levi Lewman-Lockhart (R)
Christine Childers (D)
Fortville Town Council, District 2
Robert Holland (R)
Becky Davis (I)
Fortville Town Council, At-large
Robert Sterrett (R)
Fritz Fentz (I)
Eastern Hancock School Board, At-large*
Alan Craney
Michael Lewis
Tammy Stunda
Greenfield-Central School Board, District 3*
Mark Lozier
John Rihm
*School board races are nonpartisan.
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