As I’m writing this, we are one month removed from the Indiana Primary Election. With that in mind I have one question, “Did you vote?”
Looking at the numbers there were a lot of people in Indiana who chose to sit out the 2024 Primary election. According to the Indianavoters.in.gov, there are 4,709,250 registered voters in Indiana. That’s an estimated 91% of the adult population. 814,077 voted in the 2024 Primary, that is 17%.
If you live in Brown County, there’s a roughly 3 in 10 chance you voted (31% voter turnout, the HIGHEST in the State.) If you live in Lake, St Joseph, or Marion County, the chances are roughly 1 in 10 with an 11-12% turnout.
As gun owners, WE HAVE TO SHOW UP AND VOTE!
29% of the votes in the 2024 Primary were absentee votes. This includes both early voting and traditional mail-in absentee ballots.
Having spent over 21 years in the US Air Force, I voted absentee many times over the years. I voted in person once prior to joining the USAF, in 1984 and yes, I did vote for President Reagan (so did a lot of other people.) The next time I would vote in-person would be in a special election as a Florida resident, in 2001. I voted in every election in between and since. Over 40 years of voting (yes 1984 was 40 years ago) I lived in many places and did many different things. In all those elections there was one thing in common: I was a gun owner.
While I choose to vote at the polls on Election Day, we all need to make sure we get to the polls when we can. If you can vote early? Vote early. Are you over 65? You can vote with a traditional absentee ballot in Indiana. Any way you do it, make sure you vote.
As gun owners and supporters of the 2nd Amendment, we outnumber those who oppose the freedoms we enjoy. Our majority doesn’t count unless we show up and vote.
Kelly Myers
ISRPA Government Affairs Co-Director
