Tippecanoe County voter turnout is 'tepid' for Primary Election

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tippecanoe County voter turnout was not impressive at the start of Election Day.

The Election Board met at 8 a.m. Tuesday for a briefing on the turnout and problems for the 2024 Primary Election.

As of that time, 957 voters had cast ballots in the first two hours of Tuesday's voting, Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said. There were 4,929 voters who cast early ballots. As of 8 a.m., that's about 5% of the county's registered voters.

"Our expectation of turnout is low," Roush said. "We expected that because there is no contested presidential race in the primary."

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In comparison to 2020, 19.6% of registered voters cast ballots, and in 2016, 35.7% of the county's registered voters cast ballots. In 2016, the presidential races were still up in the air, making Indiana a pivotal state for the races.

Mike Smith, an election board employee, said, "We're rolling along. Turnout is still tepid. Everybody in the state is reporting it that way."

The election officials also faced the challenge of poll workers who canceled at the last minute.

"The hardest thing we've had to deal with is, we've had an unprecedented number of call offs. No shows. At the last minute. We're talking 25," Roush said.

Smith said they shuffled around workers to fill in the gaps, and everything continued smoothly.

The polls are open until 6 p.m.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County voter turnout is 'tepid' for Primary Election