Wayne County already has more than 100 new voters this year.
According to Tara Pegg, Wayne County’s clerk of courts, the county had 116 new voters register to vote between Jan. 1 and March 3.
Some of those new voters could be just 17, because 17-year-olds may register and vote in the primary if they turn 18 by the November election.
As of March 4, Wayne County has 41,865 registered voters.
That number constantly changes as Indiana requires voter registration offices to do maintenance to the voter lists.
Some maintenance is routinely done, such as removing voters who’ve died, after receiving a copy of their death certificate.
However, Indiana Election Division also now mails postcards to voters who haven’t voted in the last two general elections to request confirmation they should still be on the rolls.
With well below 40% of eligible voters actually casting a ballot in local elections, those who do participate can make more of a difference than they might think.
April 6 is the voter registration deadline for those who want to register for the primary. Forms are due 4:30 p.m. in person at the Wayne County courthouse, 301 E. Main St., Richmond, or 11:59 p.m. online at indianavoters.com. Updates to names or addresses also can be processed through those same sources.
In-person absentee voting begins April 7 at the courthouse.
New vote center
For those already planning where they’ll vote, one change has been made to longtime poll sites.
Wayne County’s election board has voted to move one vote center on Election Day (Tuesday, May 5) within the same community.
The vote center is moving from the downtown Centerville Christian Church to Centerville Church of the Nazarene, 7181 W. U.S. 40, on the town’s western edge.
That vote center will not be open during early voting. Besides the courthouse, two early voting sites are in Richmond (First Bank Kuhlman Center and First English Lutheran Church and one each in Cambridge City (Golay Community Center) and New Testament Church (Hagerstown).
Vote by mail
April 23 is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail. Voters must complete an ABS-Mail application form and ensure it’s received by that date at their county voter registration office.
Applications received after the deadline, even if it’s postmarked before that date, can’t be processed.
Ballots can be requested by calling 765-973-9304, emailing voters@waynecounty.in.gov or downloading the form at indianavoters.in.gov/MVPHome/PrintDocuments.
To cast a ballot by mail, voters must meet one of 12 qualifications including factors like being 65 or older, having a disability, caring for a confined individual, working for the full 12 hours the polls are open or lack of transportation.
Equipment test
On Tuesday, March 3, Wayne County’s voter registration office conducted a public test of the automated tabulating equipment that’s used to scan and count ballot votes.
Pegg said the test went well.
A version of this article will appear in the March 11 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.