Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Breaking News:


Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Allen County Sees Massive Jolt In Mail-In Voting For 2020 Primary

Rebecca Green/WBOI News

According to unofficial numbers from the Allen County Election Board, nearly 39,000 primary ballots were mailed out, with just over 34,500 returned. That’s an 89% return rate.

In 2016, only 2,815 voted by mail, which made up only 3% of that year’s electorate.

Comparatively the county saw massive declines in in-person early and same-day voting. 22,000 are estimated to have voted in-person Tuesday, with a little more than 2,000 coming in early to vote.

That’s a 27% drop in Election Day voting, and a 13% drop in early in-person voting.

The sea change in local voting habits can largely be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed the primary by one month and led officials to encourage using Indiana’s expanded mail-in ballot system.

But the total of Allen County residents casting ballots is actually pretty good, according to Andy Downs of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics.

“We actually have better turnout than 2012, but nothing close to ‘08 or ‘16,” he says.

As area residents await the results of the final tally, one way to have an idea of who will likely win is to pay attention to the spread of votes between candidates for in-person vote tallies, Downs said.

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.
Related Content