Early voting surges in Dubois County, topping 1,500 ballots cast

More than 1,500 Dubois County voters had already cast ballots as early voting gathered speed ahead of the May 5 primary, giving county election officials an early sign of strong spring participation. The turnout came before the county’s first early-voting Saturday and showed residents were making time to vote well before Election Day.

Early in-person voting began April 7, and April 25 marked the first Saturday option in the county. On that day, voters could cast ballots from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Courthouse Annex, the 35th Street Fire Station in Jasper, the Huntingburg Event Center and the YMCA in Ferdinand. Because Dubois County is a vote center county, any registered county voter can vote at any open location in the county during early voting or on Election Day.

The county’s vote center model, adopted in 2021, gives voters more flexibility than the old precinct-only system and has become part of how Dubois County handles large elections. That flexibility matters in a primary that includes local offices with direct impact at home, including county sheriff, county assessor, county commissioner and, in some counties, county council seats, along with state and federal races. For Dubois County residents, the ballot is not abstract. It helps shape the local offices that affect public safety, property tax administration and county government.

Several deadlines have already passed or are now close. Dubois County voter registration closed April 6. Mail-in ballot applications had to be received by the Clerk’s Office by 4:00 p.m. Thursday, April 23, or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. that day. State guidance says absentee-in-person voting begins 28 days before Election Day, and the 2026 Indiana Voter Information Guide requires a valid photo ID for in-person voting. Indiana also allows otherwise qualified 17-year-olds to vote in a primary election.

The early turnout gives Dubois County an immediate measure of civic engagement as the primary season unfolds. With more than 1,500 ballots already in, the next test is how many voters use the remaining early-voting hours and the final Election Day push to decide the county’s local and partisan contests.