(Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell explains the proposed electioneering boundary to candidates and supporters outside the relocated voting entrance at the Indianapolis Public Library’s Pike Branch on Saturday, May 2, 2026. Photo: Abdul-Hakim Shabazz / IndyPolitics.Org)

Marion County voters have cast 16,652 in-person early ballots through Saturday, May 2 — a 40 percent increase over the same point in the 2024 primary and nearly 50 percent over the 2022 primary, according to data from the Marion County Election Board.

Saturday alone accounted for 2,551 of those ballots, the single highest day of early voting recorded so far this cycle.

At the same point in 2024, the in-person early vote total was 11,934. In 2022, it was 11,176. With Sunday and Monday voting still scheduled, 2026 is on track to surpass both prior primaries by significant margins.

Mail ballot returns have moved in the opposite direction. Through May 2, 3,483 mail ballots have been returned, compared to 4,066 at the same point in 2024 — a decline of roughly 14 percent. The data suggests the in-person surge represents new voter activity rather than a shift between voting methods.

Contested Races Track With High-Volume Sites

Early vote totals by location point to contested races as a likely driver. The three highest-volume satellite sites — the Indianapolis Public Library’s Fort Ben and Pike branches and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on the north side — all sit within or adjacent to contested state Senate primary districts.

Through May 2, the satellite sites have recorded the following totals:

  • Fort Ben Branch: 2,987
  • St. Luke’s United Methodist Church: 2,922
  • Pike Branch: 2,803
  • Warren Township Government Center: 1,755
  • Krannert Park Community Center: 829
  • Perry Township Government Center: 769
  • Franklin Township Government Center: 763
  • Decatur Township Government Center: 228

The City-County Building has recorded 3,596 votes, though that figure includes the April 7–24 period when it was the only early voting site in the county.

Sites in townships without contested state Senate primaries — Decatur, Franklin, and Perry — have generated substantially lower volume than those in Lawrence, Pike, and Warren townships, where Senate races are competitive. Countywide, Democratic voters also face contested primaries for the 7th Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. André Carson, the Marion County Prosecutor’s office held by Ryan Mears, and the County Clerk’s office held by Kate Sweeney Bell.

Pike Branch Electioneering Dispute

A dispute over electioneering boundaries at the Pike Branch site may result in a legal challenge.

The branch has two public entrances. The primary entrance is regularly used by children on the autism spectrum who participate in programming at the library, and election officials raised concerns that the activity associated with an early voting site at that entrance could cause distress for those visitors. The voting entrance was relocated to the building’s secondary entrance.

The relocation, however, placed the 50-foot electioneering buffer required under Indiana law into an adjacent parking lot used by moving vehicles, raising safety concerns for candidates, campaign workers, and voters gathered outside the buffer.

To address the conflict, Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell and the Election Board’s attorney proposed using the two “Vote Here” signs posted at the site as the boundary in place of the standard 50-foot measurement. Officials sought consent from candidates and their supporters present at the site. Most agreed to the arrangement; several did not.

Those who objected have contacted Common Cause Indiana, which may file suit challenging the modified boundary.

This part of the story will be updated Monday.