Putnam on par with statewide voter turnout numbers

Absentee numbers slightly trail state average

Already in line with the statewide GOP sweep that took place on Election Day, Putnam County voters also turned out in similar numbers to their counterparts around the state.

With 60 percent of registered voters casting ballots in the General Election, Putnam County was just above the statewide average of 58 percent voter turnout.

Statewide voter tunout numbers were released Tuesday by Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson.

Among 25,270 eligible voters in Putnam County, 15,043 cast ballots for the Nov. 8 election.

Among neighboring counties, Putnam fell in the middle in terms of turnout, lagging behind Hendricks (tied for fourth best in the state at 70 percent), Montgomery (64 percent) and Morgan (62 percent), but just ahead of Clay (59 percent), Owen (59 percent) and Parke (58 percent.)

The top turnout numbers in the state went to Decatur, LaGrange and Whitley counties, all of which had 71 percent turnout. Hendricks, Vermillion and Wells were just behind at 70 percent.

Only two counties in the state saw less than half of registered voters cast ballots, with Switzerland County 91st in the state at 48 percent and Scott County ranking 92nd at 47 percent.

At the state level, 4.8 million people are registered to vote, 2.8 million of whom turned out.

One of the more interesting voting trends in recent election cycles has been the continued growth of absentee and early voting.

Putnam County set a local early voting record in 2016 with 4,245 voters casting early ballots, 28 percent of the total cast.

While this is not too far behind the statewide number of 33 percent, some counties are well ahead of the curve, with nine reporting 60 percent or more absentee voters.

Howard County is tops in this category, with 71 percent absentee voters. Our neghbors to the north in Montgomery County rank third at 68 percent.

Most other nearby counties also run ahead of Putnam County and the state in their percentage of early voters, including Morgan at 50 percent, Owen at 43 percent and Clay and Hendricks, each at 37 percent. Parke County tied with Putnam at 28 percent.

On the flipside of the high turnout, 13 counties linger below 20 percent of absentee voters.

Dearborn County ranks last in the state at 10 percent absentee ballots.