Voter turnout drops below 25 percent in Columbus

Note: A previous version of this story had the number of votes for Mayor-elect Mary Ferdon incorrect.

Less than a quarter of eligible voters turned out for Tuesday’s municipal elections in Columbus.

According to the Bartholomew County clerk’s office, there were 7,089 voters yesterday, or just over 23 percent of the 30,801 registered voters in the city.

The election saw 3,763 people cast ballots at the city’s eight voter centers yesterday. 3,326 people cast absentee or early ballots in the election, with 394 mail in votes and 2,932 people voting early at either Nexus Park or the Governmental Office Building in the weeks leading up to the election.

The closet race was in the City Council District 3 race where incumbent Democrat Jerone Wood, defeated Republican challenger Sue Normal-Chapple with 52.34 percent to 47.66 percent.

The widest vote margin was in the race for Council District 4, where incumbent Republican Frank Miller defeated Democrat Keegan Hill, 61.6 percent to 38.4 percent.

Newly elected Mayor Mary Ferdon drew the most votes in the election, with 4,755 voters giving her the nod in her win over independent Sean Burton. That included 2,433 voters on election day, 259 paper absentee ballots and 2,063 walk-in early votes.