Putnam turnout for primary certified at 26%

Putnam County voter turnout in last month’s primary election was officially certified as 26 percent -- or better than 70 percent of Hoosier counties -- according to figures released Thursday by the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.

On May 8, a warm, sunny spring day, 6,021 of the 23,367 registered Putnam County voters had their primary ballots counted. That computes to a 25.77 percent voter turnout (rounded to 26 percent for state purposes) in the first-ever local election conducted using voting centers.

Secretary of State Connie Lawson -- who formerly represented Putnam County in her five-term tenure as District 24 state senator (1996-2012) -- announced Thursday that the official canvass of primary election returns recently certified by the Election Division shows that 20 percent cast a vote in the May 8 Primary Election.

That computes to just 870,336 of Indiana’s 4.4 million registered voters.

However, voter turnout in the 2018 primary represents a significant increase from the 2014 midterms and is comparable to the 2010 midterm primary, state statistics show.

In 2014, 13 percent of registered Hoosiers voted in the primary election. In 2010, 21 percent of Hoosiers voted in the primary.

“Candidates and issues continue to drive turnout in elections,” Secretary of State Lawson said. “Contested statewide and county races across the state brought voters from both parties out in significant numbers, and thanks to the preparations made by clerks and election administrators in all 92 counties, Indiana’s reputation for safe and efficient elections continues.”

Jay County boasted the highest turnout of any Indiana county with 57 percent. There were multiple contested races on the Jay County ballot, driving turnout up.

Following Jay were Crawford County (38 percent), Daviess County (35 percent), Fountain County (35 percent) and Jackson County (35 percent).

Putnam County’s 26 percent tied for 27th overall among the state’s 92 counties.

Of the 6,021 Putnam County residents who voted in the 2018 primary, 4,674 actually went to the polls on election day, while 1,347 voted absentee or participated in early voting at the courthouse. That latter figure computes to 22 percent of the overall turnout.

Among adjacent counties, only Owen County had a better 2018 turnout than Putnam, seeing 27 percent go to the polls with 3,571 of its 13,451 registered voters casting primary ballots.

Parke and Morgan counties were verified at 24 percent turnout. For Parke that means, 2,449 of 10,219 registered voters, while Morgan saw 11,434 of its 47,586 registered voters cast ballots.

Meanwhile, Hendricks, Montgomery and Clay counties all logged a 22 percent voter turnout.

In Hendricks County, that meant 24,423 registered voters of its total 106,629 participated in the recent primary.

For Morgan County, 5,130 of its 22,910 registered voters went to the polls, while in Clay County it was 4,107 of its 18,339 registered voters casting ballots.

The complete 2018 Primary Election Turnout and Absentee Chart with voter statistics for each county can be viewed online at www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/Election_Turnout_and_Registration_20180608_124613....

The report was compiled by the Secretary of State’s Office using voter data gathered in Indiana’s 92 counties.

Early voting continues to gain popularity. In 2010, early voting was at 11 percent for the primary election. It grew to 16 percent in 2014. This year, it reached 20 percent. Hoosiers are taking advantage of options the state has provided to make voting easier, Lawson noted.

Turnout statistics for previous elections can be found online at www.in.gov/sos/elections/2983.htm.