Indiana Sees Surge In Early Voting Compared To 2014 Midterm Election

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana is seeing a surge in early voting in comparison with 2014's midterm elections.

Data from the Secretary of State's office show that as of Thursday, more than 292,000 Hoosiers had either voted at early voting centers or through mail-in ballots. That's more than twice the roughly 137,000 early ballots that had been cast by the same time in October 2014.

But early voting numbers don't necessarily reflect increased voter turnout.

Andrew Downs is director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue Fort Wayne. He tells The Journal Gazette research shows that people who vote early would have voted anyway but are "simply taking advantage of the convenience."

Early voting began Oct. 10 in Indiana and ends on Nov. 5, the day before the election.