INDIANAPOLIS — Satellite voting centers opened in Johnson County Wednesday for early voting for the first time in this general election.
The line stretched about 200 people deep on a damp, cool morning at the Johnson County White River Branch when voting began at 10:00 a.m. Voters needed about an hour to get through the line.
"I think voting early really benefits, because it means your vote is going to count,” said Victoria Hardin after casting her ballot. “On Election Day, you might not have time to go through and get everybody voted in. So as long as you're going and doing the early voting, you know that your voice is going to be heard."
Naomi Summers and Gloria Lovell met while standing in line.
"I like early voting because I like to get my vote in to make sure it's going to get counted,” said Summers.
“This is the first time I've ever early voted,” said Lovell. “But I was just so excited I couldn't wait. If it had been snowing, I would have stood in line."
"I had my mind made up and everything,” said William Hoffman. “So, I just want to get it done with and over with. I’d like this whole thing to be done and over with and settled, one way or the other, so we can get back (to) whatever normal is."
The new normal at the polling place is PPE provided by the state to local election officials.
"They provided us with masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, cleaning solution, sneeze guards, face shields, and we are cleaning our machines before every voter touches that machine,” said Johnson County Clerk Trena McLaughlin.
Four satellite voting centers are open 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. through Friday throughout Johnson County. A fifth location opens this weekend.
Current satellite voting sites include:
- White River Public Library, 1664 Library Boulevard, Greenwood, IN 46143
- Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower Street, Trafalgar, IN 46181
- Franklin Community Center, 396 Branigan Boulevard and State Street, Franklin, IN 46131
- John R. Drybread Community Center, 100 E. Main Cross Street, Edinburgh, IN 46124
To see a full list of voting sites in Johnson County and when they're open, click here.
There was no line and no wait for voters early Wednesday afternoon at the Franklin Community Center, less than a mile from where people stood outside in line waiting to vote at the Johnson County Courthouse.
"We voted by ballot through the mail for the primary,” said Connie Holzhausen after voting in Franklin with her husband, Jim. “I'm not sure if we really get counted that way. Especially with what's going on this year, I wanted to make sure our vote counted."
Before Wednesday, 11,000 people already voted early at the courthouse. The clerk expects to top the 35,000 early voters in the last presidential election in 2016.