Saturday voting starting, vote centers open soon

Although vote centers are open for five weekdays until 7 p.m., some Wayne County residents find it more convenient to cast their ballots on a Saturday.

Voters can cast ballots on Richmond’s west side or downtown on the two Saturdays before Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5).

As of Monday morning, Oct. 21, the Wayne County clerk’s office said 2,611 ballots had been cast so far, with 1,873 voters coming to the courthouse, 723 voting by absentee mail-in ballot and 15 more casting military and overseas ballots. Over 1,110 absentee ballots have been mailed out.

Here’s some information to help make a voting plan.

In-person voting

Voters are already casting ballots at Wayne County Courthouse, 301 E. Main St., Richmond. Voting is available from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. 

The only exception to those hours is a noon deadline on the final day, Monday, Nov. 4. 

The courthouse will be open on two Saturdays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. just for voting. 

First Bank Kuhlman Center also will be open two Saturdays for voting (Oct. 26 and Nov. 2) from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.  

Four vote centers will be open around Wayne County from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, until 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1. Those vote centers are: Golay Community Center, 1007 E. Main St., Cambridge City; New Testament Church, 752 W. Main St., Hagerstown; First English Lutheran Church, 2727 E. Main St., Richmond; and First Bank Kuhlman Center.

A total of eight vote centers around the county will be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

In addition to the four centers mentioned above, voters can visit LifeSpring’s north campus, 5600 U.S. 27 N., Richmond; Centerville Christian Church’s Family Center, 106 E. Main St., Centerville; Mount Olive Baptist Church, 1108 N. H St., Richmond; and First Baptist Church, 1601 S. A St., Richmond.

For more information, call 765-973-9304.

Absentee ballots

Voters’ applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, for an absentee ballot to be delivered by mail, or a voter with print disabilities requesting to vote by mail, email or fax. 

Voters can qualify for an absentee ballot for one of 12 reasons, such as being 65 or older, having a disability, being a caregiver or lacking transportation to the polls.

Those applications may be submitted to the clerk in person, by mail, fax, email or online through indianavoters.com. 

Meanwhile, those who want a traveling voter board to visit them in their place of confinement must apply by noon Monday, Nov. 4. Applications may be submitted to the clerk in person by mail, fax, email or online through indianavoters.com.

Absentee voter information is available at 765-973-9226.  

Hear from the candidates

Whitewater Community Television concludes its candidate forums on Thursday, Oct. 24. Candidates for U.S. Representative (Sixth District) were invited.

The “IN Focus” program airs live at 6 p.m. on WGTV, Channel 11 (on Comcast cable in most of Wayne County). The shows will also stream live on WCTV’s Facebook page as well as on WGTV Online, WCTV’s livestreaming site, at wgtv.viebit.com.

Questions can be submitted via WCTV’s Facebook page during the live broadcast.

The program will air again on WGTV six times shortly after it airs live. Those replays are at 10:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sundays.

Audio replays can be heard at 6 a.m. Sundays on G101.3 FM and ESPN Radio 1490 AM/100.9 FM WKBV.

• Western Wayne News published Q & As with Wayne County’s six contested school board candidates in its Oct. 9 edition, along with an article about Indiana’s five judges who could be retained, and a constitutional amendment. Those articles can be found at WesternWayneNews.com/elections/.
• Indiana Debate Commission has planned debates for Indiana’s U.S. Senate and governor candidates. Libertarian, Republican and Democratic candidates were invited. The gubernatorial debate is from 7-8 p.m. Oct. 24 and Senate debate is 7-8 p.m. Oct. 29. They will stream at indianadebatecommission.org and air on C-SPAN and various Indiana stations. The commission is a nonpartisan statewide volunteer organization and has offered debates since 2008.

How to get an ID

When going to the polls, Indiana voters must show a government-issued photo ID to cast their ballot. 

Free IDs are available for those who don’t have a driver’s license and will be 18 or older on or before the election. 

Driver’s licenses and IDs that expired after the last general election may be used as proof of ID for voting. 

However, some might see the upcoming election as a reminder to order a new card at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch.

Richmond’s branch opens at 9 a.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. It closes at 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays. Hours are extended until 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays. On Saturdays, BMV closes at 12:30 p.m.

When getting a new or updated card, it might be wise to take enough paperwork to qualify for a Real ID.

Real IDs will be required starting May 7, 2025, to get on commercial airplanes or enter certain federal facilities.

The list of required documents to get a Real ID is at in.gov/bmv/licenses-permits-ids/real-id-overview/. For more information, call 888-692-6841.