Tuesday was primary election day in northeast Indiana. Ballots for voters around the region are headlined by either a GOP senate primary or a Democratic race for district three.
Election turnout in Indiana in the 2016 general election was low. Fifty-eight percent of eligible voters made it to the polls according to the state government’s website, but that percentage is high compared to the thirty-eight percent in the primary election held the same year. Over the last decade, primary numbers have been down in Indiana since the forty percent of eligible voters who cast ballots in the spring of 2008.
According to unofficial results, Allen County's primary election turnout was about 15 percent.
It makes sense that voters might go to the polls on their lunch break, but after dividing the expected low turnout with the one hundred and sixteen voting precincts in Allen County, none of the polling places were experiencing a lunch rush. Around noon, Kate Black had just finished voting at Redeemer Lutheran Church on Rudisill Blvd.
“The only thing I can say is that I am just hoping against hope that the American people look up and notice that it is their country, and if they don’t stand up and do something about what is happening with the division in this country, we’ll never be able to fix it.”
Another voter hoping Tuesday’s results can lead to some changes and solutions is Shirley Wall.
“I believe in the elections, but I don’t care for the way things are going right now.”
If there are signs of a wave of any kind in northeast Indiana, it could come from voters like Black and Wall, calling for dialogue and civility. Wall hopes the rhetoric used and the ways candidates attack their opponents will change.
“Let’s just try to get back to being civil to each other.”