Indiana Voter Turnout For Midterm Election Was 51%

Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 8:14 AM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

Dearborn and Switzerland counties were on opposite ends of the early voting spectrum

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – More than half of Indiana’s registered voters cast a ballot in the November 2018 mid-term election.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced the results Wednesday. The 51 percent turnout last month is the first time since 1994 that Indiana has had 50 percent or better turnout in a mid-term election.

“This is the highest midterm turnout in over two decades,” said Secretary Lawson. “The last time we saw a midterm with turnout in the 50s was in 1994. Both of these election cycles highlight how candidates and issues drive higher turnout in elections.”

Just over 2.3 million of 4.5 million registered Hoosier voters made it to the polls. About a third of them voted early or cast an absentee ballot in person or by mail, up from 14 percent in the 2014 midterm.

In southeastern Indiana, voter turnout ranged from 54 percent in Dearborn County to 46 percent in Switzerland County. Turnout was 47 percent in Franklin County, 53 percent in Ohio County, and 55 percent in Ripley County.

Dearborn County’s 13 percent early voting rate was among the lowest in the state.

Switzerland County, which uses a traveling vote centers model for its elections, had the state’s highest early absentee voting percentage at 69 percent.

Local election results are available on our Indiana Votes 2018 page.