Jackson County residents headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in the primary election will find several races on the ballot.
There have been no changes to poll locations, so voters should return to the poll site where they voted in the 2016 general election unless they have moved into another precinct.
The four-way battle for the Republican Party’s nomination for sheriff will come to a close in a campaign that began at about the time the 2017 Jackson County Fair got underway in late July.
That race features Bill Abbott, Rick Meyer and Charlie Murphy, all of Seymour, and Phil Nale of Brownstown. The winner will face Democrat Jeff Walters of Seymour in the Nov. 6 general election.
The five sheriff’s candidates spent $39,680.80 from Jan. 1, 2017, through April 20, 2018, in an attempt to woo voters, according to the required campaign finance report on file at the clerk’s office in the courthouse in Brownstown.
The four GOP candidates have spent $36,805.80 of that figure while seeking the party’s nomination. Walters, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, spent $2,875.60 from Jan. 1, 2018, to April 18, 2018.
Murphy has spent the most at $16,820.28, while Abbott is the only candidate that has not received contributions and has personally financed his $6,686.49 campaign.
Meyer has spent $9,145.91 on campaign signs, materials, advertising and other items.
Nale has spent the least amount of the Republicans at $3,653.12 and has financed his campaign personally with the exception of $200 in contributions.
The race may be the leading factor for an increase in early voting. As of Wednesday, 1,108 people have voted at courthouses in Brownstown and Seymour. That compares to the 685 early votes in the 2014 primary election.
There also is a race for the Jackson Township trustee. Incumbent Jackson Township Trustee Bill Marsh will square off against Linda Auleman of Seymour, who is wrapping up her second term as county recorder. The recorder is limited by the state constitution to two terms. Marsh is finishing up his sixth four-year term.
The District 3 county commissioner’s seat pits incumbent Matt Reedy of Freetown against newcomer Roger Bane of Medora. Reedy is finishing up his second four-year term. District 3 includes Carr, Owen, Salt Creek and Pershing townships, but all voters in Jackson County will select the nominee.
There also are Republican and Democratic primary races for the District 2 county council seat, which is presently held by Republican Leon Pottschmidt.
The district includes all of Driftwood, Grassy Fork, Vernon and Washington townships and Jackson 3 South and Jackson 4 South precincts.
The Democratic primary in that race features Lenvel “Butch” Robinson of Crothersville and Barry Stuckwisch of Seymour, while Mark Hackman and Mark Pardieck, both of Seymour, will vie for the Republican party’s nomination.
There’s also a race for Owen Township trustee, and voters will chose between Frank Fisher of Norman and Karen Branaman Wagoner of Medora.
Republican voters in Jackson County also will see races for two of the county’s state House races.
A three-way race for House District 69 will see incumbent Jim Lucas of Seymour — first elected in 2012 — squaring off against Seymour Republican Nancy Franke and Columbus Republican Charles Johnson.
Franke is a familiar opponent for Lucas, as she challenged him in the 2016 primary. Her efforts came up short with Lucas winning 60.5 percent of the vote.
The winner of that race will face Elizabethtown Democrat Steve Schoettmer in the fall.
House District 73 also will see a primary challenge, as incumbent Steve Davisson of Salem, who was elected in 2010, will face off against Buford L. DeWitt of Paoli.
Republicans statewide will have three options for a U.S. Senate seat that’s up for grabs. The ballot features candidates Mike Braun, a businessman from Jasper, Sixth District Congressman Luke Messer and Fourth District Congressman Todd Rokita.
The winner will face incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly, who is seeking a second term after being elected in 2012.
Democrats also will pick the party’s nominee for the Ninth Congressional District seat between Dan Canon of New Albany and Rob Chatlos and Liz Watson, both of Bloomington.
The winner of that race will face incumbent Republican Trey Hollingsworth of Jeffersonville, who is finishing his first two-year term. Hollingsworth is being challenged by James Dean Alspach.
County Clerk Amanda Lowery, who is in charge of running the election, said there are about 135 poll workers for the 30 precincts that will be located at 27 polling locations.
She said she has conducted seven poll worker training sessions.
“I hope things go smooth and people turn out,” she said. “We put in a lot of time and effort into the elections. Voting gives people a chance to make their voice heard.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Ballot” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
2018 primary election ballot
U.S. Senate
Joe Donnelly (D)
Mike Braun (R)
Luke Messer (R)
Todd Rokita (R)
U.S. representative — Ninth District
James Dean Alspach (R)
Dan Canon (D)
Liz Watson (D)
Trey Hollingsworth (R)
State Senate, District 43
Clyde A. “Chip” Perfect Jr. (R)
State Senate, District 45
John Perkins (D)
Chris Garten (R)
State representative, District 65
Chris D. May (R)
Jared Stancombe (D)
State representative, District 69
Steve Schoettmer (D)
Nancy L. Franke (R)
Charles Johnson (R)
Jim Lucas (R)
Steven Buffington (L)
State representative, District 73
Steve Davisson (R)
Buford L. DeWitt (R)
Jackson County clerk
Melissa Elkins Hayes (R)
Jackson County assessor
Katie Kaufman (R)
Jackson County commissioner, District 3
Roger L. Bane (R)
Matt Reedy (R)
Jackson County Council, District 1
Catherine “Cathy” Stuckwisch (D)
Michael Davidson (R)
Jackson County Council, District 2
Barry Stuckwisch (D)
Lenvel “Butch” Robinson (D)
Mark Hackman (R)
Mark Pardieck (R)
Jackson County Council, District 3
Mary Voss Burgmeier (D)
Brian H. Thompson (R)
Jackson County Council, District 4
Mandy Ward (D)
Kari Luedeman Storey (R)
Jackson County recorder
Clifford L. Sommers (D)
Amanda Cunningham Lowery (R)
Jackson County sheriff
Jeffrey Walters (D)
William V. “Bill” Abbott (R)
Rick Meyer (R)
Charlie Murphy (R)
Phil Nale (R)
Jackson Circuit Court judge
Richard W. Poynter (R)
Brownstown 1 Democratic precinct committeeman
Robert Millman
Brownstown East Democratic precinct committeeman
Charlotte Sellers
Carr Democratic precinct committeeman
Mary Ann Ault
Grassy Fork Democratic precinct committeeman
Jeanette Hackman
Jackson 2 East Democratic precinct committeeman
Jan Sullivan
Jackson 3 South Democratic precinct committeeman
Ollie Knott
Jackson 4 North Democratic precinct committeeman
Gary L. Colglazier
Jackson 4 South Democratic precinct committeeman
Tammy Riordan
Jackson 5 East Democratic precinct committeeman
Dan Colglazier
Jackson 5 North Democratic precinct committeeman
John Steele Burkhart
Jackson 6 Democratic precinct committeeman
Ken Tormoehlen
Jackson 7 Democratic precinct committeeman
Rita Hinners
Pershing Democratic precinct committeeman
Jimmie-Lou Ault
Redding East Democratic precinct committeeman
Patricia L. Hercamp
Redding West Democratic precinct committeeman
Lesley A. Reuter
Vernon Crothersville Democratic precinct committeeman
NaLona Deputy Bush
Vernon South Democratic precinct committeeman
Eunice M. Lacey
Republican convention delegate
Natasha A. Langford
Jackson County prosecutor
AmyMarie Travis (R)
Township boards
Brownstown
Conner J. Barnette (R)
Angela Blann (R)
Jack R. Gillespie (R)
Carr
Mary Ann Ault (D)
Joe K. Campbell (D)
Sharon Ingle (R)
Driftwood
John Hartley (R)
Grassy Fork
Stan D. Darlage (D)
Janette Elliott (R)
Craig L. Klinge (D)
Hamilton
George Mellencamp (D)
Donald Schnitker (R)
Howard Wente (R)
Jackson
Alicia Colglazier (D)
Larry K. Sunbury (R)
Erin Meadors (L)
Owen
Jack E. Gilbert (R)
Justyn Underwood (R)
Pershing
Thomas Ault (D)
Todd Brumfield (R)
Doyle Lyon (R)
Joe McDermid (R)
Redding
Patricia L. Hercamp (D)
David “Dave” Merry (D)
Max Noblitt (D)
Sara Cunningham (R)
Giles W. Spaulding (R)
Salt Creek
Judy Goforth (D)
Larry Smallwood (D)
Clifford P. Kirts (R)
Toby Laney (R)
Vernon
Odes Densford (D)
Tyler Goodpaster (R)
Allene Hougland (D)
Roger Teipen (R)
Washington
Richard Darlage (D)
Alan J. Pollert (D)
Richard Stuckwisch (D)
Township trustees
Brownstown
Jennifer Saucerman Isaacs (R)
Carr
George Patrick “Pat” Bahan (D)
Steve Ingle (R)
Driftwood
Charles E. “Chuck” Lowery (R)
Grassy Fork
Parke Hackman (D)
Hamilton
Staci Lambring Eglen
Jackson
Linda Auleman (R)
John Steele Burkhart (D)
William “Bill” Marsh (R)
Owen
Frank Fisher (R)
Karen Branaman Wagoner (R)
Pershing
Sharon K. Yost (R)
Redding
Conrad E. Calmer (D)
Salt Creek
Floyd E. Fisher (R)
Vernon
E. Scott Kovener (D)
Washington
Sharon Reedy (D)
What you’ll need: A license or state-issued identification
What you won’t need: Campaign materials, including shirts and clothing, hats, buttons, pens and other materials. Items must be concealed or left outside the polling site.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Anyone planning to vote on Election Day must be a registered voter and have a valid government-issued identification with a photograph, and it must be current through the last general election (Nov. 8, 2016). It can be a driver’s license, a passport or any identification issued by the state or federal government.
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branches will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to issue identification cards and driver’s licenses that may be used for identification at a polling place. Branches also will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday.
The license branches only will process new, amended or replacement identification cards, driver’s licenses and learner permits.
The BMV provides free state-issued identification cards for voting purposes to any unlicensed Hoosier as long as he or she can provide proper documentation and will be at least 18 years of age on or before the next general or municipal election.
A complete list of documents required to obtain a new state identification card or driver’s license may be found at mybmv.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end]