Allen County sees increase in early voting numbers

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - According to Allen County election board director Amy Scrogham, they’ve seen around 8,500 early voters at the Rousseau Centre.

That number is double what it was in 2022.

She says they average around 600 voters a day. Now, more locations will be expanding.

On Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., people can vote at the Rousseau Centre and Ivy Tech Coliseum Campus.

Then, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5. p.m., people can vote at these locations:

• Christ’s Community Church - 10616 Liberty Mills Road
• Firehouse Reception Hall – 3322 Honway Court
• Grace Point Church – 8611 Mayhew Road
• Ivy Tech Coliseum Campus – 3800 N Anthony Blvd., Door #50
• Public Safety Academy – 7602 Patriot Crossing
• Resurrection Lutheran Church - 14318 Lima Road
• Rousseau Centre – 1 E Main St.

The final day of early voting will be Monday, Nov. 2, at the Rousseau Centre from 8 a.m. to noon.

Scrogham says adding more locations and different hours gives flexibility.

“Exercising your right to vote (is) what we’re here for,” Scrogham said. “We’re here to make sure you get a chance to vote. We try to extend our hours so if you have different hours to work, we try to make it accessible for everybody.”

One voter, Don Williams, says voting early removes the stress of having to do it on election day.

“We just wanted to get it done and over with so we can stop thinking about it and worrying about it and then not have to fight the bigger crowd on election day,” Williams said.

Before heading out to the polls, Scrogham says it’s important that people do their due diligence by educating themselves on some of the big topics in this year’s election, whether it’s having a casino or deciding who gets bail.

“It’s a pretty big ballot. There are three public questions,” Scrogham said. “So if you do try to review those ahead of time, that will save you some time behind the machine; they’re pretty lengthy.”

The Indiana primary election is on Nov. 3, and voting hours will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To be the first to get the latest breaking news alerts, download the 21Alive News App here.

You can also catch the latest news from 21Alive anytime on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. Just search “21Alive” in the app store and download the app to your device.