Source: General / Radio One
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.”
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