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    • Ohioans head to the polls Tuesday to vote for president
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    Ohioans head to the polls Tuesday to vote for president

    Harry Posted on

    Millions of Ohioans went to the polls Tuesday to vote for president, U.S. Senate and hundreds of local races in what could be the largest turnout in state history.

    Ohio Election Results: See here for tonight’s results

    Voters lined up before the polls opened at 6.30 in the morning and continued to vote throughout the day, helped by sunny weather. record high temperatures. Voting remained steady throughout the day, even though more than 2.5 million Ohioans voted early.

    Election day turnout was heavy in central Ohio, and by midday, half of all eligible voters in Franklin County had cast ballots, counting Tuesday’s election day voters and early voters.

    Long lines but few problems

    Despite the heavy turnout, voters and poll workers reported Election Day to be largely uneventful, with some voters waiting more than an hour to cast their ballots.

    Nearly 100 voters lined up at Hilliard Station Sixth Grade Primary School in Hilliard in the early hours of the morning, but voting continued despite the queue.

    “Nothing out of the ordinary happened. We’re trying to make sure everything goes smoothly,” polling place manager Richard Canary said, echoing comments from election officials in central Ohio.

    Dennis Yep, the site’s location manager, said voters packed the Worthington United Methodist Church 45 minutes before the polls opened.

    “The crowd is very thick,” he said.

    At 10 a.m., there were still 550 people in line at the church, and wait times were more than an hour.

    At the Groveport Recreation Senior Center, some voters said they waited 90 minutes to vote. But most seemed to take it in stride.

    “The turnout this year is much higher than in 2020, which is very encouraging,” said Joshauna McKinney, the polling station manager. “People were generally very nice and very understanding.”

    While some counties reported a few issues, such as slow ballot printing and a man following voters to their cars in front of Ascension Lutheran Church on Morse Road, polling places in central Ohio were mostly business as usual throughout the day.

    Polls closed at 7.30pm and some results were expected after 8pm, the deadline for Wednesday’s print edition of The Dispatch (see Dispatch.com for the latest results).

    What drove the voters?

    In addition to deciding local voting issues, Ohio voters elected a Senator, U.S. House representatives, state Supreme Court justices, and hundreds of local leaders.

    But for many voters, that day was shaped by the presidential race between former Republican President Donald Trump and current Vice President Democrat Kamala Harris.

    “I’m not happy with where we’re going,” said Jo Ann Potts, 58, who was voting in Greenfield Township in Fairfield County.

    Potts said he voted for a straight Republican ticket with Trump at the top.

    “I did it because I didn’t like the state of the economy,” he said. “I’m worried how bad it will be if he doesn’t get this.”

    Lori Burnip spent election season in New Albany knocking on more than 300 doors on behalf of the Franklin County Republican Party. He cast his vote early but handed out Republican candidate cards in front of Franklin Church in New Albany before sunrise Tuesday.

    “Our ancestors gave us this republic. “If you can keep it,” Burnip said, quoting Benjamin Franklin. “This is our moment in 1776.”

    Other central Ohioans were equally passionate about Harris, even though she trailed Trump by nearly eight points in pre-election polls in Ohio.

    Ross and Lea Goldsmith came to the Gahanna Library with their young child, Hildy, to vote; They were wearing their finest patriotic garb: a red-and-white ruffled skirt and a large blue-and-white sequined star on the front of their shirt.

    While in line, Hildy asked loudly if they would see Kamala, her parents’ choice.

    When asked why they voted for Harris, Ross Goldsmith shook his head at Hildy and said, “This one.”

    “And this one,” he added, pointing to his wife’s baby bump. “We have to make sure we have an economy that works for everyone and a country that works for everyone.”

    Karen Good, 74, voted for Harris at Lakewood Middle School in Hebron for a simple reason: “I don’t want a crazy person running the country.”

    Kari MacDowell, who voted Tuesday at the Dodge Park Recreation Center in Franklinton, was impressed by Harris’ stance on reproductive rights.

    “I’m a woman and I care about my rights, so I voted Democratic,” the Columbus resident said.

    Voters are driven by more than the presidential race

    In addition to the presidential race, Ohioans chose for the U.S. Senate between incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno. The most expensive non-presidential race in US history.

    Other statewide issues include three Ohio Supreme Court justices seats and Number 1 will change How to draw maps for Congressional and State House districts?.

    Neil Finnegin of Franklinton came out Tuesday to vote for Issue 1 and Harris.

    “I want to get rid of gerrymandering,” Finnegin said. “This should not be handled by politicians.”

    Voters also decided the fate of several central Ohio races, including a proposal to increase sales tax by half a percent (from 0.5% to 1.0%) in the area served by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) to fund public transportation improvements. also determined. LinkUSA.

    Fritz Weidner, 74, of Madison, said he voted against the LinkUS tax.

    “I am voting against this and any additional new taxes,” Weidner said. “It needs to stop at this point.”

    Marcedez Walton of North Linden offered the opposite reason for going to the polls on Tuesday. Came out in support of a 1.9-mill tax renewal and a 0.6-mill increase for Franklin County Children’s Services.

    Walton is a foster parent who receives $27 a day for the baby in her care. “That’s not enough,” he said.

    For some voters, the day marked the end of a frustrating election that pitted two unattractive candidates against each other at the top.

    Baltimore’s Wayne Cagg bypassed the two major parties entirely when voting for Independent candidate Richard Duncan.

    “I’m angry on both sides,” Cagg, 68, said. “They pissed me off this year”

    Dispatch reporters Mark Williams, Bob Vitale, Sheridan Hendrix, Bailey Gallion, Danae King, Nathan Hart, Belinda Paschal, Sophia Veneziano and Barbara Perenic contributed to this report.

    Harry
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