Local Indiana, Michigan counties report promising early voter turnout ahead of midterm election

BERRIEN COUNTY, Ind. -- Voters are already hitting the polls in Indiana and Michigan ahead of next week's midterm election. 

Some Michiana counties are reporting a high turnout of early voters, close to that of a presidential election. 

On Saturday alone, when early voting began in Michigan, 664 voters came to the Berrien County polling center in Lake Charter Township to cast their ballots early. 

The Berrien County Clerk says it was a good sign that voting turnout will be strong this year. 

But it's not happening just in Southwest Michigan; it's the case across Michiana.  

"It's been very steady, which we love," says Stacy Loar-Porter, the Berrien County Clerk. 

At the end of the day on Tuesday, more than 21,000 people cast their vote in Berrien County, which includes absentee ballot and in-person early voting.    

"Which is about a 16 percent turnout for now," Loar-Porter says. 

Loar-Porter says early voting turnout has already nearly tripled the turnout she saw for the August primary.  

This is also true for Elkhart County, which has had over 12,000 ballots cast already compared to the May primary's total turnout of 18,000 voters.  

"The primary, our poll workers were hoping people would come in, and they did straggle in, but it's not near; we're definitely a much steadier pace for this one, which we anticipated," explains Loar-Porter.  

In comparison to the last midterm election in 2022, local counties are also well ahead with early voters. 

In Saint Joseph County, there were a total of 22,000 early votes four years ago, and as of Wednesday, there are just about 20 thousand already cast.  

In Michigan, the last gubernatorial race happened during the 2022 midterm.  

At the time, because of Covid restrictions, early voting was done only through absentee ballot resulting in a roughly 18 percent early voter turnout.  

But Loar-Porter also says there is a trend she has noticed, and it depends on the candidates in the race for governor.  

"In '22 there was an incumbent for the gubernatorial race and there's not this time, so we are anticipating a higher turnout," says Loar-Porter. "Generally, when there's not an incumbent, you see a higher turnout."  

Loar-Porter expects to see numbers for this election that reflect closer to a presidential election, which was 62 percent of eligible voters in Berrien County in 2024.  

"It affects people so much and you tend to see higher turnouts for presidential and not always for state, so it's really exciting for us to see the same amount of turnout for a state and local election," Loar-Porter explains. 

Michigan residents can vote early in Michigan until Sunday at 4:30, and absentee ballots need to be turned in by 8pm on Election Day. 

In Indiana, in‑person early voting ends at noon on Monday, November 2, and absentee ballots need to be dropped off by 6 pm on Election Day.