Amid concerns of COVID-19, many Jackson County residents have opted to vote early, either in-person or via absentee ballot, to avoid the crowds for Tuesday’s primary election.
Andrea Edwards, the county voter registration clerk, said the office received 1,973 requests for absentee ballots before the May 21 deadline and 1,760 had been returned by Thursday at closing time at 4:30 p.m.
For comparison, the county received 237 absentee ballots for the 2016 primary.
Additionally, through Thursday, 185 people had voted at an absentee voting site that open Tuesday morning in the courthouse annex in Brownstown. That site also is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to noon Monday.
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Absentee ballots by mail can be returned in all the way up until Tuesday’s election.
The total of early voters through Thursday was 1,945, which tops the 1,799 voters who cast ballots before primary election day in 2016, according to the Indiana Election Commission. That year, there were absentee voting sites at Brownstown and Seymour, and both opened several weeks before the election.
The decrease in in-person early voting can likely be attributed to the time window being restricted to one week, the number of locations being reduced to one and safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The primary features just three countywide races — all on the Republican ballot. There are no Democratic candidates for the 10 countywide offices up for election, but the party has until June 30 to fill ballot vacancies for the Nov. 3 general election.
Three Seymour men are vying for the nomination for District 2 county commissioner seat, including incumbent Bob Gillaspy, who is wrapping up his first four-year term, and challengers Dave Eggers and Kenny Pfaffenberger.
Nominations for the three at-large county council seats also are up for grabs. The five candidates in the running include incumbent councilmen Dave Hall of Seymour and John Nolting of Brownstown and challengers Thomas Joray and Woody DeZarn, both of Seymour, and Brett Turner of Crothersville.
The ballot also features a race for the Republican nominee for coroner between two political newcomers, Ronald Cox of Brownstown and Paul Foster of Seymour. Seymour Republican Mike Bobb is the incumbent, but he opted against running again after one four-year term. That term ends Dec. 31.
Republicans running unopposed are Jackson Superior Court I Judge AmyMarie Travis of Brownstown; Auditor Roger Hurt of Brownstown; Treasurer Kathy Hohenstreiter of Seymour; Surveyor Daniel Blann of Brownstown; and District 1 Commissioner Drew Markel of Brownstown.
Republicans running unopposed for state offices are Gov. Eric Holcomb of Vincennes, U.S. District 9 Rep. Trey Hollingsworth of Jeffersonville, state District 44 Sen. Eric Koch of Bedford, state District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas of Seymour and state District 65 Rep. Chris May of Bedford.
Mark Cox, a Republican from Paoli, is challenging state District 73 Rep. Steve Davisson of Salem. That district includes Carr, Driftwood and Owen townships in Jackson County and part of Brownstown Township.
President Donald Trump is joined on the Republican ballot by Bill Weld.
Democrats planning to vote will have nine presidential candidates vying for the party’s nomination. They are Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang.
They also can pick from five candidates for the Indiana Ninth Congressional District: D. Liam Dorris of Bloomington, James C. O’Gabhann III of Los Angeles, California, Mark J. Powell of Whiteland, Andy Ruff of Bloomington and Brandon Hood of Bloomington.
Democrats running unopposed are governor candidate Woodrow "Woody" Myers of Indianapolis and state District 69 representative candidate Jeffery W. Prewitt of Seymour.
The state and federal positions will be contested between party nominees in the Nov. 3 general election.
For in-person voting Tuesday,, extra safety precautions will be taken in voting centers across Jackson County. These include voters being encouraged to wear masks, social distancing measures, poll workers wearing masks, Plexiglas shields that will protect voters and poll workers, voters will each receive their own stylus pen to use for signing in and voting, hand sanitizer will be available and equipment will be frequently sanitized between uses.
Voting locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday.
If you are unsure of which precinct you live in or where your voting site is, that information can be found online at indianavoters.in.gov under the “visit my voter portal” section.
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Brownstown 1, Jackson County Courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown
Brownstown 2, Jackson County Courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown
Brownstown 4, Jackson County Courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown
Brownstown East, Jackson County Courthouse Annex, 220 E. Walnut St., Brownstown
Brownstown West, Ratcliff Grove Christian Church, 1989 N. State Road 135, Freetown
Carr, Medora Christian Church, 76 George St., Medora
Driftwood, Vallonia School gymnasium, 2459 W. Commerce St., Vallonia
Grassy Fork, Grassy Fork Township Volunteer Fire Department, 5358 S. County Road 450E, Tampico
Hamilton, Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department, 6843 N. County Road 400E, Cortland
Jackson 1 East, Calvary Baptist Church, 1202 N. Ewing St., Seymour
Jackson 2 East, The Point Family Center, 311 Myers St., Seymour
Jackson 2 West, The Point Family Center, 311 Myers St., Seymour
Jackson 3 North, American Legion Annex, 414 W. Second St., Seymour
Jackson 3 South, Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 Gaiser Drive, Seymour
Jackson 4 North, Superior Court I, 1420 Corporate Way, Seymour
Jackson 4 South, Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 Gaiser Drive, Seymour
Jackson 5 East, American Legion Annex, 414 W. Second St., Seymour
Jackson 5 North, Superior Court I, 1420 Corporate Way, Seymour
Jackson 6 North, The Point Family Center, 311 Myers St., Seymour
Jackson 7, Seymour Christian Church, 915 Kasting Road, Seymour
Owen, Owen-Salt Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department, 5752 N. Cleveland St., Kurtz
Pershing, Freetown Community Center, North Union Street, Freetown
Redding East, Reddington Christian Church fellowship hall, 10516 N. U.S. 31, Reddington
Redding-Seymour City, Calvary Baptist Church, 1202 N. Ewing St., Seymour
Redding West, Peter’s Switch Church of the Nazarene fellowship hall, 9528 N. County Road 760E, Seymour
Salt Creek, Houston School, Houston
Vernon Crothersville, First Baptist Church, 401 E. Howard St., Crothersville
Vernon North, First Baptist Church, 401 E. Howard St., Crothersville
Vernon South, First Baptist Church, 401 E. Howard St., Crothersville
Washington, Dudleytown Conservation Club, 5936 E. State Road 250, Brownstown
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