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Indiana Primary Election Results Not Expected For Days

About 500,000 more Hoosiers requested an absentee vote-by-mail ballot in 2020 than in the last presidential primary.
Justin Hicks/IPB News
About 500,000 more Hoosiers requested an absentee vote-by-mail ballot in 2020 than in the last presidential primary.

Hoosiers shouldn’t expect full results the night of Indiana’s primary election like usual.

Indiana expanded vote-by-mail to anyone who wanted it for this year’s primary, a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. And about 500,000 more people requested such a ballot than in the last presidential primary.

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Because of that, Secretary of State Connie Lawson says don’t expect results Tuesday night.

“I think it’s gonna take two or three days, honestly, before we get the final results," Lawson says. "Some of the counties, like Ohio County – the last time I looked, they had 71. So, obviously they’re going to be done. Marion County will not be done. It’s gonna take a while.”

Ohio County sent out the fewest absentee ballots, just 141. Marion County sent the most, more than 124,000.

The Indiana Election Commission says counties must finish counting all absentee ballots by noon on June 12.

Contact reporter Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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