HANCOCK COUNTY — Jeremy Staley had a position of distinction at the Hancock County Courthouse on election night on Tuesday, June 2. He was the last person in line to vote.
“I got here right at 6 p.m.,” he said, about an hour later. “I about forgot about it.”
Hancock County sheriff’s deputies were waiting at the back of the line as well, where they had to turn away a few people who showed up to vote after the 6 p.m. deadline.
Staley said he had not heard much about early voting or absentee ballots and had not realized he could vote earlier. But on election night, he was determined to remain in line as long as he needed to.
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“A lot of people died for this right,” he said. “I think everybody should vote.”
By 7:30 p.m., Staley and the other last voters in line at the annex were making their way through the doors. Other polling places in the county remained open even later into the night.
With only four places in Hancock County to vote on Election Day, none closed at the scheduled time. Instead, voters waited in line past 6 p.m. to cast their ballots, delaying the availability of results. It’s the latest complication to come from an unprecedented election year amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
The delays at the polls pushed results well past the Daily Reporter’s print deadline. Vote totals are available on the Daily Reporter’s website, greenfieldreporter.com. A full report, including reaction and analysis, will be available in the Thursday, June 4, print edition.
Hancock County Clerk Lisa Lofgreen said the long lines throughout the day reflected voters’ passion about being heard.
“I’m sorry that people had to stand in line after 6 p.m., but I’m thrilled that people had to stand in line after 6 p.m.,” Lofgreen said.
Ironically, Hancock County is still likely to have a low turnout this primary season when compared with previous years. However, rule changes in response to COVID-19 meant fewer polling places were available.
Some voters at the county annex waited about 90 minutes to cast their votes. Some also had to drive farther than usual to cast a vote — about a 20-minute drive for voter Levi McNeely and his family.
“I’m surprised by how little voting places we have in Hancock County. It would’ve been better to have one in Fortville,” McNeely said.
Although absentee ballots were made available to voters for any reason and in-person early voting was also available, many Hancock County residents still chose to cast a ballot in person on Election Day. With social distancing measures in place to limit the number of people inside each polling place, long outdoor lines formed throughout the day.
“I’ve been shocked at the turnout all day,” county council candidate Keely Butrum said.
What the general election will look like in November is, at this point, uncertain. Butrum said she hoped more than four polling places would be available at that time.
John Jessup, the incumbent candidate for county commissioner in District 1, agreed.
“The election board didn’t do anything wrong,” Jessup said. “It was guesswork on what to do with COVID-19.”
At the Buck Creek Fire Station polling place, election inspector Mike Wherry said there were 192 people in line at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m., he estimated it would be another two hours before they all got through.
Wherry, who’s worked elections in other places in the county, said he’d never seen anything like it.
“None of us thought it would be like this. I give them credit; people have been waiting a long time,” he said.
Brandon and Brandy Ecker and their 6-year-old daughter, Blaikley, McCordsville, were last in line, having arrived shortly before 6.
“I should’ve voted this morning,” Brandon said with a laugh of his thoughts upon his arrival.
Joking aside, he was impressed with the large turnout. “It’s exciting to see that, actually,” he said.
Several candidates were present at Buck Creek as well, including county commissioner candidates Matt Holland and Bill Spalding as well as Chris Jeter, a state representative candidate in District 88, which includes part of western Hancock County.
“I was expecting a large crowd, but this turned out to be even more than I was expecting,” Holland said.
Despite unusual circumstances, the voting process seemed to be running smoothly. Lofgreen said no problems had been reported at the county’s four open polling places.
Turnout in the last presidential primary election was approximately 13,000 people, Lofgreen said. If 10,000 or more were to vote in Tuesday’s primary, she said she would consider it a success for her office in dealing with the cycle’s setbacks.
“I think we did really well, especially having the condensed vote centers that we had,” she said.
Much of that success, she said, could be attributed to the workers assisting at polling places and counting the ballots.
“If voters see their poll workers out at Walmart or anything, please say thank you to our poll workers. They worked very hard today, and so did our deputy clerks,” Lofgreen said.
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Results in the primary election, which featured several contested races — especially on the GOP ballot — were not available before the Daily Reporter’s print-edition deadline Tuesday evening. Results may be found online at www.greenfieldreporter.com, and a complete report will appear in the print edition on Thursday.
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