Indiana saw the highest voter turnout for municipal elections in recent memory during this month’s race, even though only 20.5 percent of all eligible voters made their way to the polls.
Because it was a municipal election, only about 60 percent of all registered people were eligible to vote -- about 2.7 million voters.
Angie Nussmeyer of the Indiana Election Division says in 2011, 15 percent al all eligible voters voted in municipal elections, and in 2007, only 14 voted. She says the number of contested mayoral races probably led to this year’s jump.
"There was a lot of movement within the mayors’ races," she says. "There was a little bit of change between parties in those races, several independent candidates came through and were elected, and so I think if there was one thing driving turnout it was probably the city executive, the mayor."
Southeastern Indiana’s Ohio County, which played host to contested city council and mayoral races, led the state with a 63 percent voter turnout. LaGrange County brought up the rear, with around just 7 percent of voters there casting ballots.
The state also reports a record use of EPollbooks, with 36 Indiana counties now using the electronic ballot-casting technology.
During this month’s election, Tippecanoe County experienced problems with its electronic voting system, resulting in 95 early voters receiving an incorrect ballot.
