ANDERSON — Tuesday’s primary had the highest voter turnout in Madison County of any primary since 1992.

Almost 40,000, or 43.4 percent, of the registered voters in Madison County voted in the primary. About 12 percent of the ballots, or 4,825, were absentee ballots.

“The Democrats came out because they had a presidential race,” Madison County Clerk Ludy Watkins said. “This is the first time in 40 years they’ve had a say in the presidential race.”

Statewide, more than 1.6 million ballots were cast on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. The Secretary of State’s office said it would not have official turnout numbers until Friday. However, in April, the office reported that 4.32 million people were registered to vote in Indiana, meaning the estimated turnout would be 37 percent for the state.

According to election results in the county, 77.4 percent of the ballots cast were for the Democratic primary.

“Barack Obama has been bringing people to the polls,” said Michael Frank, associate professor of political science at Anderson University. “There are people who are coming to the polls in particular who otherwise wouldn’t.”

Watkins said the county expects a large general election when there is a large primary turnout.

“But we can’t tell because we’ve not had a chance to pick a presidential candidate in Indiana in 40 years,” she said. “I would hope that the voters do not lose their enthusiasm.”

According to county election reports, the federal general election, which comes every four years, has brought more than 55 percent of voters to the polls in Madison County, many fueled by the presidential races.

Turnout in November might depend on who gets the Democratic nomination, Frank said. While Obama attracts the young voters and the black community, Clinton grabs the white, blue-collar workers.

“It’s really going to depend on how the campaign pans out,” he said. “I could see in one respect where some people might say John McCain isn’t a typical Republican, so some Republicans might be less likely to vote. You might see less Republicans, but more young voters, so turnout might be the same.”

Presidential races overshadowed the local elections such as school board races, county council and commissioners, Watkins said.

“It tends to put (those races) on the back burner, and that’s bad, too,” she said. “That’s not good, because there are county elections.”

However, Watkins said, she thought the county races would be more popular in November.

“I don’t think it will overshadow the presidential election, but I think it will be more prevalent,” she said.