While the 2024 presidential race has dominated media coverage of the election, there are a number of other races further down the ballot voters in Monroe County should pay attention to ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

With Election Day just around the corner, many Monroe County residents have already turned in their absentee voting ballots.

Mail-in ballots in Monroe County must be returned to Election Central at 401 W. Seventh St. County election officials will stop accepting mail-in ballots at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, regardless of when they were postmarked. Indiana voters can vote straight-ticket, meaning they can vote for every candidate of a political party with a single mark.

But they are still expecting a large turnout on Election Day. Of the 499,763 voters in Monroe County, roughly a third cast a ballot through early or mail-in voting. The county's Republican elections commissioner, Lisa Nicolay, expects an even higher turnout on Tuesday.