INDIANAPOLIS — We are just days away from the 2024 election and Indiana has already seen a large voter turnout.
Secretary of State Diego Morales said the state has surpassed one million voters.
Before voters could cast their ballot, many had to wait in long lines.
"I put about 20 minutes on my parking meter and I got around to the line and I was like, 'Oh I need to add another hour to that,'" one voter said.
Some told 13News they were in line for an hour or more.
"The lines are not a figment of our imagination, people want to come out and cast their ballot," Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said.
Bell said the county has had over 91,000 people vote early and has surpassed 2020's voter turnout.
"We did know there would be crowds and anticipated lines and when we thought there was a change that we could amend our vote center plan, we grabbed it and ran with it," she said.
They did that by a special election board meeting Thursday. A resolution introduced to expand hours at satellite locations.
This would mean those locations would open two hours earlier at 9 a.m., instead of 11 a.m. That resolution did not pass due to one Republican board member voting no.
"We have agreed upon rules for months and months and it's inappropriate to change it this late in the election cycle," Marion County Republican Chair Joe Elsener said.
Elsener said one of the reasons they voted no is because they would have had to expand poll staff.
"All of a sudden you have these extra hours and overnight you have to find Republican staff, Democratic staff, county staff and you have to find a way to staff those and the Democrats know that's a lot of work and effort," he said.
While satellite location times won't change, voters say it's still important to get out this weekend.
"Your voice is the most important thing you have, you have to make sure you make democracy count," one voter said.
The City-County Building will be open from 8 a.m.- 10 p.m. this weekend, while satellite locations will stay open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.