Thousands of voters in area counties hitting polls early

BENTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Election day is right around the corner and voters are taking advantage of early voting.

"In the last presidential election year we had about 600 early voters which is about 10 percent of our registered voters," Benton County Clerk Janet Hasser said. "This year we're up to more than 500 so we're hoping we'll do as well."

Hasser said with less than a week left she's expecting more voters to cast their ballots early.

"You know we would like to see people come in," Hasser said. "It helps on election day to make less work for the poll workers on that day and it makes it convenient for voters as they're traveling through town to stop here at the courthouse to vote."

Benton County voters aren't the only ones hitting the polls early. In Cass County nearly 4,000 voters have already voted. A little more than 1,000 voters have cast their ballot in White County.

The White County Clerk said there have been fewer early voters than in the 2008 election, but expects more voters before Tuesday.

Carroll County voter Ron Cripe said he's casting his vote early, but not too early.

"I like the idea of voting early but I think it's best to wait closer to the election than a month out," Cripe said.

Cripe said while he plans on voting before election day, there's a reason why he hasn't made his way to the polls quite yet.

"Say you vote a month early and then something comes up that we didn't know before. Now you've cast your vote and you may wish you hadn't voted that way," Cripe said.

A thought possibly shared by some who haven't voted early.

Hasser said she's not sure how many voters will visit the polls in Benton County over the next few days, but said she hopes it's more than last year.

"We had a little over 60 percent turn out the last presidential election year, which I'd like to see 80 or 90 percent," Hasser said.

Nearly 13,000 voters have cast their ballot early in Tippecanoe County.

Voters have through Monday to cast their vote early in their county.

Election day is Tuesday.