Early start to Election Day in Elkhart County

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Election Day is tomorrow, and Elkhart County residents are already getting an early start with casting their ballot. The percentage of voters in the municipalities in Elkhart County who have already cast their ballots is 4.85%, rounding to five percent.  

According to Goshen News, as of Nov. 2, in-person voting cast in Elkhart County was at 2,144 votes, with 579 through mail and 61 from travel board.    

Elkhart County Clerk of the Courts Christopher Anderson says they’re seeing a dramatic turnout in Goshen, as for this municipal election, every seat is contested. 

All Elkhart council seats except District 2 are on the ballot but in Nappanee only District 3 is contested this year.  

The contested Goshen mayoral race is at the top of the ballot. There is a decent turnout in Elkhart, despite their contested races further down the ballot with council seats.  

Although the deadline for voter registration has passed, Anderson recommends for people to head over to Indiana Voters to check their voter status.  In addition, he says, they can use the website to view the candidates on the ballot, voting locations, and voting hours.    

“Local elections, municipal elections, are very important. Those local officials that are being elected are the officials who have the most immediate impact on you as a citizen. They're right there, they touch you first,” Anderson said.  

Tuesday, Elkhart County voters can cast their ballot at any of the 29 voting centers. 

Several are also along interurban trolley routes to help people who need transportation.  

Anderson says it’s usually a lesser turnout in municipal years compared to the midterms or presidential year. However, he says he’s expecting to see a decent turnout this year somewhere in the range of 15% to 20%.  

“If we can encourage people to cast their ballot, either today, tomorrow, Sunday, Monday and Election Day, at their local voting location, that gets them involved. It gets them voicing their opinions and can tell local officials this is what we’re interested in,” Anderson said.