Marion County Sets Midterm Record for In-Person Early Voting

INDIANAPOLIS — Marion County voters have set a midterm record for in-person early voting ahead of Tuesday’s general election. More than 85,000 ballots have been cast, with one more half day of early voting left.

According to the Marion County Board of Voter Registration, 85,705 voters had voted early in person as of Sunday. The figure covers in-person early voting only. It does not include mail-in absentee ballots. The voter registration office confirmed the total is a record for a midterm election in the county.

In-person early voting in the 2022 midterm ended with 49,499 ballots cast. The 2026 in-person total is already 36,206 votes, or about 73 percent, higher. In the 2018 midterm, more than 84,000 Marion County voters cast early ballots, in person and by mail combined. The 2026 in-person count alone has passed that figure.

The county has not reached presidential-year levels. In the 2024 general election, 133,727 Marion County voters cast ballots early in person, and 32,173 absentee ballots were sent out, according to the Marion County Clerk’s Office. The 2026 in-person total so far is about 64 percent of the 2024 figure.

The general election numbers follow a similar increase in the May primary. The clerk’s office reported that 19,857 voters cast ballots early in the 2026 primary. In each of the 2022 and 2024 primaries, fewer than 12,000 voted early.

Under Indiana law, in-person early voting ends at noon on the day before the election. Any registered voter with a valid photo ID may vote early in person. No excuse is required. Mail-in absentee voting is limited to voters who meet specific eligibility requirements under state law.

Voters with a mail-in absentee ballot who have not yet returned it should check the deadlines on the Marion County Election Board’s website. A voter who has already cast an absentee ballot, in person or by mail, cannot vote again on Election Day.

Polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 6 p.m. Marion County uses vote centers on Election Day, so registered voters may vote at any vote center in the county. Voters can check their registration and find vote center locations at IndianaVoters.com.

Statewide, about 685,000 Hoosiers voted early in the 2022 midterm, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office. More than 515,000 of those ballots were cast in person. Statewide figures for 2026 were not available as of Sunday evening.