Mail-In Absentee Votes Up, But Overall Turnout Lower
June 5, 2020 at 11:39 p.m.
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In fact, it seems to have been the exact opposite, though we can’t say for sure that the lower voter turnout was due to the coronavirus.
As for primary contests, the big Republican races in the county were for Superior Court III judge (which Chad Miner won); county commissioner for the northern district (which Brad Jackson won); and three county council at-large seats (Kathy Groninger, Sue Ann Mitchell and Joni Truex winning). There was a presidential primary, but Donald Trump and Joe Biden winning wasn’t even a question. Craig Snow beat out Russ Reahard to win the Republican nomination for State Representative District 18 and he will face Democrat Chad Harris in the fall, while Curt Nisly held on for District 22. Yeah, there were some other races here and there but excitement for the June 2 election seemed to be tepid at best.
After primary election night was over Tuesday, Kosciusko County Clerk of the Circuit and Superior Courts Ann Torpy was asked about the voter turnout.
She said, “The absentee mail was more than we ever had in the years that I worked here. We had almost 3,300 and that’s never happened before. And our in-person (early) voting, for a week, was 500 so that was lower than what we normally do in a week’s time the week before the election. We usually do far more than that during that week.”
She said the low early in-person voting number might have been due to COVID-19, but some people might have just decided to vote in-person at the polls on Election Day. “So I don’t really think it had anything to do with the COVID, unless the 3,300 people that voted by mail were planning on coming on in here. I’m not sure exactly if it was. I’m not sure the reason why it was so low.”
The final election summary report from Tuesday night shows that 12,482 people of the 52,428 registered voters in the county voted – or 23.81%. Of the 12,482 voters, 8,827 voted on Election Day; 3,125 voted by paper absentee; and 530 were walk-in absentee.
For a primary in a presidential election year, Torpy said the turnout was “not normal.”
“Last time, in 2016, we had over 21,000 voters. This is way down,” Torpy said.
According to the state of Indiana website, the voter turnout for the 2016 primary was 41% with 1,813 absentee voters, while the voter turnout for the 2012 primary was 25% with 856 absentee voters.
CONVENTION DELEGATES – Aside from the governor, judge and county races Tuesday, voters also got to elect their party’s convention delegates and a few precinct committeemen in the primary.
On the Republican side, there were 22 candidates for 17 convention delegates. The top 17 vote-getters were (in alphabetical order): J.D. Ayres, 3664 votes; Anne L. Bonewitz, 3496; Brian Boyer, 3625; Monica Boyer, 3736; Paulette Davis, 3444; Gary Eppenbaugh, 3,360; Steve Foster, 4118; Tyler Haines, 4076; Christanne “Katy” Hampton, 3725; Daniel Hampton, 4162; Rhonda Helser, 3833; Troy D. Helser, 3716; Tyler Huffer, 3752; Jim Jarrette, 3838; Sue Ann Mitchell, 4249; Linda D. Overstreet, 3245; and Terry Wood, 3861.
The Indiana Republican State Convention will be later this month.
In Republican precinct committeemen contested races, the results were: Jefferson 2, Merle Holden, 35, James Pecsi, 27; Wayne 1, Lynne Howie, 227, Alan Tio., 146; Wayne 4, Mark Nunez, 42, Jim Zachary, 38; Wayne 9, Rhonda Helser, 129, Terry Wood, 104.
Democrats had 12 candidates for its 10 convention delegates. The top 10 vote-getters were (in alphabetical order): Brandon Cavanaugh, 852; Anna Coello, 923; Adam Hyde, 714; Levi James, 721; Sara McNeal-Strahan-Lenfestey, 902; Dee M. Moore, 936; Lauran Sattler, 911; Krystal Shelburne, 881; Kelly Thompson, 948; and James L. Townsend, 765. The Indiana Democratic Party held its state convention virtually Thursday, just two days after the primary.
There were no precinct committeemen contested races in Kosciusko’s primary.
JOBS REPORT – U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who easily won her Republican primary and will face Democrat Pat Hackett again in the fall, on Friday released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s May jobs report, which showed an increase of 2.5 million jobs last month:
“The latest jobs report is great news for Hoosier workers and a positive first step as we begin to safely reopen and rebuild our economy. Recovering from this unprecedented public health and economic crisis will not be easy, but I know our workers, small businesses, manufacturers and farmers are up to the task. I look forward to working with my colleagues and President Trump to continue building on the success of emergency relief measures like the Paycheck Protection Program and get Americans safely back to work.”
BANKS’ CHALLENGER – After U.S. Rep. Jim Banks won his Republican primary for Indiana’s 3rd District Tuesday, he will face Democrat Chip Coldiron.
We received a press release from Coldiron’s campaign Thursday with the headline: “Coming Off Strong Primary Win With Historic Turnout, Democrat Chip Coldiron’s Grassroots Campaign Is Ready To Challenge Rep. Banks.”
The release is kind of long, so we’re just going to keep it short by highlighting a few of the paragraphs.
It states, in part: “With over 34,000 votes cast in the Democratic primary, Chip Coldiron won every county but Blackford and Kosciusko counties – the two counties split between congressional districts, where Coldiron finished second by slim margins.”
Coldiron stated, “I’m humbled to be my party’s nominee for Congress in this critical election year. On the ballot is the question of whether our country will restore the values of service, decency and the belief that every person has equal value and accountability before our laws and government.”
And finally, the release states, “... Since taking office in 2017, Jim Banks has consistently shown where his priorities lie. Shortly after arriving in D.C., Rep. Banks voted to take healthcare coverage away from millions of Americans while cozying up to wealthy donors and corporations to fund his campaigns. While voting against a bipartisan bill to provide emergency response resources when COVID-19 was just hitting Hoosier families, Banks was shoring up support from right-wing colleagues so he can chair an insider club for the politically ambitious. And, just this week, he praised the use of tear gas on peaceful protesters and unsuspecting priests in front of the White House. While the president rewarded his loyalty with a cookie-cutter tweet, the same consistent theme was made clear: Rep. Banks’s top priority is his own career, not Northeast Indiana voters.”
Coldiron’s video address to supporters can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-inwrEfkwr0&feature=youtu.be
GENEROSITY – Martin’s Super Markets matched in-store customer contributions at their checkouts to local United Way branches during April and May with the final total coming in at $35,200. The donations were directed to COVID-19 Response Funds in each of the counties where Martin’s stores are located. These funds were set up by United Way to respond to both short-term and long-term needs of individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The funds included online and at-the-register donations from our very generous customers as well as funds raised by Martin’s employees purchasing a special T-shirt they are able to wear at work. Our partnership with the South Bend Chocolate Company and proceeds from Easter basket sales also helped increase the amount we were able to donate to this very worthwhile cause,” said Amy Simeri-McClellan, senior vice president, Martin’s Super Markets.
The branches receiving the donations include: United Way of Cass County, United Way of Elkhart and LaGrange counties, United Way of Kosciusko County, United Way of Marshall County, United Way of Southwest Michigan and United Way of St. Joseph County.
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In fact, it seems to have been the exact opposite, though we can’t say for sure that the lower voter turnout was due to the coronavirus.
As for primary contests, the big Republican races in the county were for Superior Court III judge (which Chad Miner won); county commissioner for the northern district (which Brad Jackson won); and three county council at-large seats (Kathy Groninger, Sue Ann Mitchell and Joni Truex winning). There was a presidential primary, but Donald Trump and Joe Biden winning wasn’t even a question. Craig Snow beat out Russ Reahard to win the Republican nomination for State Representative District 18 and he will face Democrat Chad Harris in the fall, while Curt Nisly held on for District 22. Yeah, there were some other races here and there but excitement for the June 2 election seemed to be tepid at best.
After primary election night was over Tuesday, Kosciusko County Clerk of the Circuit and Superior Courts Ann Torpy was asked about the voter turnout.
She said, “The absentee mail was more than we ever had in the years that I worked here. We had almost 3,300 and that’s never happened before. And our in-person (early) voting, for a week, was 500 so that was lower than what we normally do in a week’s time the week before the election. We usually do far more than that during that week.”
She said the low early in-person voting number might have been due to COVID-19, but some people might have just decided to vote in-person at the polls on Election Day. “So I don’t really think it had anything to do with the COVID, unless the 3,300 people that voted by mail were planning on coming on in here. I’m not sure exactly if it was. I’m not sure the reason why it was so low.”
The final election summary report from Tuesday night shows that 12,482 people of the 52,428 registered voters in the county voted – or 23.81%. Of the 12,482 voters, 8,827 voted on Election Day; 3,125 voted by paper absentee; and 530 were walk-in absentee.
For a primary in a presidential election year, Torpy said the turnout was “not normal.”
“Last time, in 2016, we had over 21,000 voters. This is way down,” Torpy said.
According to the state of Indiana website, the voter turnout for the 2016 primary was 41% with 1,813 absentee voters, while the voter turnout for the 2012 primary was 25% with 856 absentee voters.
CONVENTION DELEGATES – Aside from the governor, judge and county races Tuesday, voters also got to elect their party’s convention delegates and a few precinct committeemen in the primary.
On the Republican side, there were 22 candidates for 17 convention delegates. The top 17 vote-getters were (in alphabetical order): J.D. Ayres, 3664 votes; Anne L. Bonewitz, 3496; Brian Boyer, 3625; Monica Boyer, 3736; Paulette Davis, 3444; Gary Eppenbaugh, 3,360; Steve Foster, 4118; Tyler Haines, 4076; Christanne “Katy” Hampton, 3725; Daniel Hampton, 4162; Rhonda Helser, 3833; Troy D. Helser, 3716; Tyler Huffer, 3752; Jim Jarrette, 3838; Sue Ann Mitchell, 4249; Linda D. Overstreet, 3245; and Terry Wood, 3861.
The Indiana Republican State Convention will be later this month.
In Republican precinct committeemen contested races, the results were: Jefferson 2, Merle Holden, 35, James Pecsi, 27; Wayne 1, Lynne Howie, 227, Alan Tio., 146; Wayne 4, Mark Nunez, 42, Jim Zachary, 38; Wayne 9, Rhonda Helser, 129, Terry Wood, 104.
Democrats had 12 candidates for its 10 convention delegates. The top 10 vote-getters were (in alphabetical order): Brandon Cavanaugh, 852; Anna Coello, 923; Adam Hyde, 714; Levi James, 721; Sara McNeal-Strahan-Lenfestey, 902; Dee M. Moore, 936; Lauran Sattler, 911; Krystal Shelburne, 881; Kelly Thompson, 948; and James L. Townsend, 765. The Indiana Democratic Party held its state convention virtually Thursday, just two days after the primary.
There were no precinct committeemen contested races in Kosciusko’s primary.
JOBS REPORT – U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), who easily won her Republican primary and will face Democrat Pat Hackett again in the fall, on Friday released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s May jobs report, which showed an increase of 2.5 million jobs last month:
“The latest jobs report is great news for Hoosier workers and a positive first step as we begin to safely reopen and rebuild our economy. Recovering from this unprecedented public health and economic crisis will not be easy, but I know our workers, small businesses, manufacturers and farmers are up to the task. I look forward to working with my colleagues and President Trump to continue building on the success of emergency relief measures like the Paycheck Protection Program and get Americans safely back to work.”
BANKS’ CHALLENGER – After U.S. Rep. Jim Banks won his Republican primary for Indiana’s 3rd District Tuesday, he will face Democrat Chip Coldiron.
We received a press release from Coldiron’s campaign Thursday with the headline: “Coming Off Strong Primary Win With Historic Turnout, Democrat Chip Coldiron’s Grassroots Campaign Is Ready To Challenge Rep. Banks.”
The release is kind of long, so we’re just going to keep it short by highlighting a few of the paragraphs.
It states, in part: “With over 34,000 votes cast in the Democratic primary, Chip Coldiron won every county but Blackford and Kosciusko counties – the two counties split between congressional districts, where Coldiron finished second by slim margins.”
Coldiron stated, “I’m humbled to be my party’s nominee for Congress in this critical election year. On the ballot is the question of whether our country will restore the values of service, decency and the belief that every person has equal value and accountability before our laws and government.”
And finally, the release states, “... Since taking office in 2017, Jim Banks has consistently shown where his priorities lie. Shortly after arriving in D.C., Rep. Banks voted to take healthcare coverage away from millions of Americans while cozying up to wealthy donors and corporations to fund his campaigns. While voting against a bipartisan bill to provide emergency response resources when COVID-19 was just hitting Hoosier families, Banks was shoring up support from right-wing colleagues so he can chair an insider club for the politically ambitious. And, just this week, he praised the use of tear gas on peaceful protesters and unsuspecting priests in front of the White House. While the president rewarded his loyalty with a cookie-cutter tweet, the same consistent theme was made clear: Rep. Banks’s top priority is his own career, not Northeast Indiana voters.”
Coldiron’s video address to supporters can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-inwrEfkwr0&feature=youtu.be
GENEROSITY – Martin’s Super Markets matched in-store customer contributions at their checkouts to local United Way branches during April and May with the final total coming in at $35,200. The donations were directed to COVID-19 Response Funds in each of the counties where Martin’s stores are located. These funds were set up by United Way to respond to both short-term and long-term needs of individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The funds included online and at-the-register donations from our very generous customers as well as funds raised by Martin’s employees purchasing a special T-shirt they are able to wear at work. Our partnership with the South Bend Chocolate Company and proceeds from Easter basket sales also helped increase the amount we were able to donate to this very worthwhile cause,” said Amy Simeri-McClellan, senior vice president, Martin’s Super Markets.
The branches receiving the donations include: United Way of Cass County, United Way of Elkhart and LaGrange counties, United Way of Kosciusko County, United Way of Marshall County, United Way of Southwest Michigan and United Way of St. Joseph County.
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