Update: This story was updated on Oct. 9, 2024 at 10:58 a.m. to add the total number of early voters on Tuesday in Franklin and Delaware counties.
Early voting in Ohio kicked off Tuesday with long, but quick moving lines in Franklin County and a steady stream of voters in Delaware County.
Early voters lean more Democratic across the U.S. and that includes Franklin County and Columbus. But even Columbus' neighbor to the north, Delaware County, has trended blue in the last few elections.
According to the Franklin County Board of Elections, over 4,200 people voted Tuesday. In Delaware County there were 1,673 total early voters.
Delaware County voters lined up to start the day. Campaigners from across the political spectrum lingered outside the Delaware County Board of Elections despite the sparse crowds and giant parking lot.
The county could be in play for Democrats this year.
Democrats have had better showings recently and the county voted, along with the majority of Ohio voters, to pass the statewide reproductive rights amendment last year.
Related: Ohio voter guide: What to know about the 2024 election
Sarah Stanney, 72, is a retired registered Republican. She said she is voting for Democrats Kamala Harris and Sherrod Brown this year.
"I don't trust Trump. I don't like the way he speaks. I don't like his opinion of women," Stanney said.
Stanney said she has not voted for a Republican for President in the last two election cycles, both of which had Trump as the nominee. She said she decided to vote early, because she and her husband were going on vacation closer to the election.
One woman wearing an American flag shirt wandered the parking lot outside the Delaware County Board of Elections shouting former President Donald Trump's last name. She declined to speak to WOSU, but recorded an interview on her phone that WOSU conducted with a voter outside.
Tony Marconi was that voter. He is a 77-year-old from Delaware, a retired teacher and a registered Democrat.
Marconi said he tries to get the facts and vote early to get it out of the way.
"I've been in early voting every year that we have to vote, and it always goes quickly. So that's another advantage," Marconi said.
Marconi said he is concerned about Ohio going in the wrong direction and that is what motivated him to go vote.
"I'm a very big advocate for LGBTQ rights. I've heard a great deal of negative, and quite frankly, uninformed anti-trans talk. And when I listen to that, it makes my blood boil, because our closest friends are gay couples. I have trans members of my family," Marconi said.
Joel Schaefer is another retired unaffiliated voter who voted early In Delaware County. He joked that the inside of the building showed an age gap.
"The gray hairs are definitely turning out today. I mean, it looked like a senior center revival inside, but it's a good thing to see. I just hope the high school kids and the college kids (join us). I mean, they need to get out and vote," Schaefer said.
There were some younger residents who turned up in Delaware County, but many skewed older.
In Franklin County, the Board of Elections spokesman Aaron Sellers said that more than 2,000 people cast ballots on the first day of early voting before 3 p.m. Sellers did not get end of day numbers to WOSU before the deadline.
Alex Caton, 18, is an unaffiliated voter who cast a ballot for the first time. Caton said he is a student at Purdue University and that he drove back to his home in Columbus to early vote, because he was worried about the mail system not working.
Caton said of all the things on the ballot, statewide Issue 1 motivated him the most. The amendment aims to reform the redistricting system in Ohio.
"Issue 1 for sure. I'm pretty against gerrymandering, I think. I think it's a pretty corrupt process. So being able to do something about that and vote in favor of it ... put that back in the hands of an independent group in order to determine more fair outcomes," Caton said.
Barbara Burden also voted in Franklin County on Tuesday. She said she was born in Columbus, but declined to give her voter affiliation.
Burden said the main race motivating her to vote was the presidential race, but didn't want to say how she voted at first.
"I do mind telling because you can't trust Trump.... So now you know who I voted for," Burden said.
Julie Park is a Worthington resident who also voted early Tuesday. She said she came to vote because of how convenient it was.
"I wanted to have my vote casted definitively this early on, so I could avoid maybe the chaos of the actual voting day," Park said.
The Franklin County Board of Elections will be open weekdays until Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then will have expanded early voting hours during the week and sometimes on weekends.
The full listing of early voting hours can be found at the board's website.
Election Day is on Nov. 5.
