Secretary of State Connie Lawson today announced that 12 percent or 327,477 of the 2,661,239 Hoosiers who were eligible to vote in the May 5 municipal primary election cast a ballot.

Not all Hoosier voters were eligible to vote in the May 5 municipal elections. Only voters who live in a city or town with an election this year or in a school corporation conducting a construction or tax levy referendum were eligible to vote.

The complete 2015 Municipal Primary Election Turnout and Absentee Chart with voter statistics for each county can be viewed online at http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/primary15/2015MunicipalPrimaryTurnout.pdf. The report was compiled by the Election Division of the Secretary of State’s office from voter data gathered in 72 of Indiana’s 92 counties. There were 20 counties in Indiana this year that did not have a primary election.

“Congratulations to Starke County as they had the highest turnout in the state with 33 percent,” said Lawson. “I hope to see more counties have a higher turnout rate this fall. To encourage this, my office will conduct an unprecedented municipal election voter outreach campaign to remind Hoosiers to register to vote and to vote this fall.”

This primary saw an increase in the use of cost-saving vote centers. Bartholomew, Clinton and Huntington Counties used voter centers for the first time in this election. As a state senator, Lawson authored legislation giving counties the option to establish vote centers, which has the potential to significantly improve efficiency and reduce county election costs. Vote centers consolidate multiple precincts into a single location, enabling counties to save on costs associated with hiring poll workers and purchasing voting machines and supplies.

“In 2013, during the off election year, I held informational meetings for county election officials to educate them on the benefits of vote centers,” said Lawson. “The savings to taxpayers and the increased flexibility for voters are significant and I hope that counties who feel this is the best choice for their citizens will choose to follow suit.”