By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH –— For the state of Indiana, it was a record turnout in this year’s election, but while numbers were up in Marshall County, it was a little more business as usual.
“We did see an increase but it was only about one percent,” said Marshall County Clerk Julie Fox. “The last general election we had a 62 percent turnout and this time it was 63 percent. As a general rule residents of Marshall County really come out to vote. As a whole, voters here come out in big numbers for every election.”

Data compiled by the Indiana Election Division from official post-election reports filed by Indiana’s 92 counties show 2,805,374 voters cast ballots for the November 4 General Election. This total number of voters equates to a 68 percent turnout of all active voters in Indiana.
The place Marshall County, and the state saw the biggest increase was in those voting by absentee ballot. The figures reveal that 662,443 Indiana voters voted absentee, either in-person, via mail or by traveling board. A record setting 24 percent of ballots cast by Hoosier voters in November 2008 were cast absentee.
In Marshall County almost 2,000 more absentee votes were cast than ever before –  a rise from 13 percent of ballots in the 2004 general election to 22 percent in 2008. Fox feels this will be a trend in future elections as well.
“People realized that they could come into the office and vote who may not have known that before, and I think many do it to avoid lines at the polls or just for the sake of convenience. I think it’s a trend that will continue,” said Fox. “I think it’s going to affect the way candidates run their campaigns in the future. If they wait until too late in the election, they may miss voters who have already voted.”
“Indiana voters continue to have more and more confidence in our election process,” said Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita. “The process itself is constantly evolving to accommodate the growing number of Hoosiers who wish to participate. Voters have more options such as vote centers and satellite voting and are responding favorably through their increased participation. Our success relies on our ability to work together as citizens to conduct our elections in a fair and organized manner.”
In Marshall County the record turnout was able to vote in a smooth manner.
“We didn’t really have any problems,” said Fox. “Our poll workers reported being very busy and that’s tough because they had a very long day without much of a break. But I’m grateful to the voters – and our poll workers were just fabulous.”