Election night in Allen County made a dramatic change in county government.
Voter turnout only tells part of the story.
On Tuesday, democrats took the majority on the Allen County Board of Commissioners and broke the Republican supermajority on the county council.
They flipped some seats at the Statehouse, cracking a supermajority there as well.
And the votes cost the Allen County GOP a number of high-profile seats, including Clerk of the Courts.
In 2018, voter turnout was a high 49 percent. In 2022's midterm elections, that number was 38 percent.
This year, about 40 percent of registered Allen County voters came to the polls.
But at the bottom of the ballot is a different number—those who pull the straight ticket levers.
In 2018, that number favored Republicans by more than 18,000. In 2022, that gap was about 15,500.
But this year the number plummeted to 1,123 in favor of Republicans.
Michael Wolf is the Director of Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue Fort Wayne.
He says that this is not likely a result of people switching parties.
"There was probably a differential in the mobilization and motivation to vote," he said.
And it is something both parties will likely study further.
Indiana is one of only six states that allow straight ticket voting.
