INDIANAPOLIS – As voters made their way to the polls Tuesday, many said certain issues are what brought them out.
Voters said that issues like infrastructure, crime, and keeping the city businesses friendly were important to them.
"I think we've kind of been stagnant for a while,” Indianapolis voter McKenzie Conard said. “So, I am hoping some new blood will get the ball rolling some more.” One of her top issues was infrastructure.
Another woman said having more candidates to choose from for mayor was something she liked about this election cycle.
"I like having a multiplicity of candidates,” Indianapolis voter Maria Leslie said.” That makes my research more in-depth to see what their platform really is and what they are really running for."
Leslie is also concerned about infrastructure, but she also has concerns about socio-economic issues as well.
"It seems like the poor are poorer and the rich are richer, and we have a lot of homeless situations going on here,” Leslie said.
The voters we spoke with voted at the City County building. The final turn out on election day there was 640, according to poll workers. They say this is a high number for a primary election. According to political experts, more competitive races typically draw more people to the polls.
"There are either incumbents being challenged within their party or across the aisle, or long serving incumbents who decided not to run for re-election, and we have these open seats that are being sought after,” Association Professor of Political Science at UIndy Laura Wilson said. “There's a lot of focus on local issues and with competitive races it's no surprise that voters take notice and are turning out to the polls. “
Some voters say they feel like more people are paying attention to local elections, especially since COVID, which had a huge impact on people’s lives.
"I think people are realizing that these local races end up impacting their lives a lot more than sometimes the national races could ever,” Indianapolis Voter Austin Kirch said. “When we have more diverse candidates, when we have more young candidates on a ballot, that brings people out to vote.”
In Hamilton County, people had different concerns. Most people we spoke with were concerned about the city keeping pace with its growth. Residents say they are fine with the city growing, they just want to make sure their community can keep up.
"A thoughtful growth is a good thing. Sometimes it does take a little bit of patience to get there and get things right,” Lisa Bush who moved to Carmel 3 months ago said. “Sometimes you try something, and it doesn't work."
Others in Hamilton County want to see the candidates they voted for make use of the economic development that has taken place downtown.
“The downtown and how that progresses,” Carmel voter Wayne LaMane said. “Also, I’d like to see a way to figure out how to get more uses out the Palladium and all the money that we spent downtown and try to pay that off a little more.”
The Hamilton County clerk said that they had higher than normal numbers for early voting turn out, as well as mail in voting turn out. However, on election day, at last check, voting was down.
