Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush reminded residents Friday that voters concerned about delays in their absentee ballot arrivals still have several options for voting in Indiana’s primary next Tuesday.
“We recognize that there are delays in the mail,” Roush said. “And we're recommending that voters bring -- if they've received their ballots, to please drop them off at one of our dropboxes, or at a vote center that's open.”
The full list of Tippecanoe County voting centers can be found here. Roush said ballots could also be placed in a dropbox just inside the front doors of the county building, or in the treasurer’s dropbox outside. Ballots must be received by noon on election day.
Voters whose approved ballots have not arrived by Tuesday can still cast a vote in person at any voting center-- but they’ll need to sign an affidavit indicating they did not receive their ballot and did not cast a vote with it. Roush said election workers would call her office to verify the voter’s ballot had not already been returned.
“If you are going to do that and you have your ballot, when you get it later, we would like you to send it back to us,” Roush said. “Do not sign the security envelope. If you had voted in person, we just want you to write on the security envelope, "voted in person,” and send it back to us, so we can account for what happened to what went out in the mail.”
Roush also said counting a “record” number of absentee ballots could mean the full results of next Tuesday’s primary election might not be available that night.
“It may take to the next day,” Roush said. “That’s a guess.”
Roush said while the typical number of applications for an absentee ballot in the county is around 2,000, her office had received close to 12,000 applications for this primary; her office approved 10,886. She said almost 3,000 people applied on May 19, 20, and 21 -- the three days leading up to the application deadline.
“I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot of ballots that do not come on time,” Roush said. “But you do have that right to come in on election day and vote.”
On Tuesday evening, the typical election night gathering at the county building -- with candidates, their family members and supporters, election officials, and members of the media filling the room -- will be limited to press and officials to preserve social distancing and gathering limit guidelines.
“Many things have not looked the same in recent weeks, and obviously the way -- our election looks a little bit different this year, and the way that the election is reported out, and the way that we use that room that night will be different as well,” said Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tracy Brown.