KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Indiana’s May primary is just over a week away, and local election officials want to remind everyone of the importance of early voting.
Early voting gives residents the chance to get their votes in if they won’t be available on election day. However, Knox County Clerk David Shelton said that this year’s numbers have been underwhelming.
“This primary voting has been a little more on the disappointing side,” he said. “We have had about 650 votes in person and another 150 by mail.”
Shelton said that with how important this primary is, he expected a better turnout.
“So many gubernatorial candidates and other races, I am just not seeing the turnout that I fully expected, and it is not just here locally, it is statewide,” he said. “I am speaking with clerks from across the state and every one of us is expressing frustration that we aren’t seeing much of turnout for this primary so far.”
Shelton said that if you do not vote, you are silencing your voice which could be impactful in the community’s future.
“My opinion is if you don’t even make the effort to vote, you have no right to complain,” he said.
However, even with what he has seen so far, Shelton is optimistic of what is to come on election day.
“Maybe it is indicative of us returning to a traditional election day voter turnout but right now, it has us perplexed a little bit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vigo County will open four more early voting centers, Tuesday for a total of seven. Vigo County’s election director says although only four percent of voters cast their ballots so far, that four percent makes a big difference.
