Polling locations across Franklin County reported long lines early Tuesday morning that leveled off as people headed to work.
As of about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, around 27% of registered Franklin County voters cast their ballots, according to Franklin County Board of Elections spokesman Aaron Sellers. That’s in addition to another roughly 20% who voted early or by absentee ballots.
Sellers expects Tuesday’s election to bring turnout similar to or greater than 2020 and 2016, which saw 72% and 70% turnout in the county respectively.
“You know, fingers crossed that we beat the 2020 numbers,” Sellers said.
Tuesday morning, Sellers said there were few problems to report, except for a few normal technical issues that were easily solved.
"Very peaceful. Very busy. Steady flow of traffic. Long lines this morning, but, of course, it's dying down,” said James Durroh, a security guard at Noor Islamic Community Center in Hilliard, describing election morning. He said he expected the day to remain peaceful.
In Clintonville, Jennifer Lynch said the process was smooth at Whetstone Community Center, which houses voting for five precincts.
“I always vote on Election Day, and typically I would take my kids, but I was afraid that the lines were going to be long,” Lynch said. “They were not too bad. Our precinct here, half of the voters already early voted.”
"I also just think the excitement of voting on voting day just feels nice."- Phillip Sauer, voter
VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
Voter Anthonia Bush ran into her father, Anthony Bush, while voting at Blackburn Community Center in Columbus’ Olde Towne East neighborhood.
“We always will be voting at the same time,” Anthonia Bush laughed. She said she voted on Election Day because she likes to be in the moment.
Statewide, about 2.5 million Ohioans voted early or by absentee ballot. In Franklin County alone, around 127,000 people voted early. Saturday and Sunday saw long lines at the Franklin County Board of Elections office on Morse Road, with some folks waiting as long as two or three hours.
"It actually takes a lot less time on voting day I found out,” said Josh Tomey, who also voted at Blackburn Community Center on Tuesday. He said he was in and out in about 10 minutes.
Phillip Sauer voted with Tomey.
"I also just think the excitement of voting on voting day just feels nice, like the energy is good as opposed to, yeah, it's more of an event,” Sauer said.
THE CANDIDATES AND THE ISSUES
Tomey, Sauer, and Anthonia Bush all voted and said they voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I have four daughters, and it's really important that they understand that me making this decision is going to affect them for the rest of their lives,” Anthonia Bush said.
She said she also wanted to support a levy for Franklin County Children’s Services.
Tomey said he wanted to tackle gerrymandering, which is the subject of Ohio’s Issue 1. It seeks to change the way political boundaries are drawn.
“Gerrymandering is something that we could claw back a little bit. So, I definitely was excited to take a stand against that one,” Tomey said.
Back at Noor Islamic Cultural Center, Sabina Lamichhane, of Dublin, said she wanted to vote for the first female president. She used a Democrat sample ballot to decide on other races.
Lamichhane, an immigrant, said voting matters.
"Like when women were not allowed to vote before, now we are. So, for our rights, for everyone's rights, it's important,” she said.
“I have four daughters, and it's really important that they understand that me making this decision is going to affect them for the rest of their lives."- Anthonia Bush, voter
Also voting at Noor Islamic Cultural Center, Hellen Weed, of Dublin, said she was undecided on some races until she walked into the polls. She did, however, vote against tax levies like the Franklin Children Services levy and a COTA transportation sales tax.
“You know, you're dealing with senior citizens on fixed income. We can't afford much more, truthfully,” Weed said.
And down in Grove City, Republican John Tracy cast a vote for former President Donald Trump. He said he agrees with Trump's policies.
“Stimulating the economy, immigration reform, to seal off the border,” Trracy said.
Tracy said he also voted no on Issue 1 and voted for Republican Bernie Moreno for the U.S. Senate and Republican John Rutan in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s race.
Moreno is running against longtime Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, while Rutan is up against current Columbus City Councilwoman Shayla Favor.
GETTING YOUR VOTER STICKER
Across the state, around 35,000 election workers staffed approximately 3,200 polling locations on Tuesday. In Franklin County, 5,600 workers staffed more than 300 voting locations.
Centennial High School student Yakira Cunningham, 17, manned the ballot counting machine at Whetstone Community Center. Though she can’t vote yet, Cunningham wanted to learn more about the process.
“Everyone's going to get to that age where they have to vote. I would rather want to know how to vote, than have to like, second guess,” Cunningham said.
Mid-morning Tuesday, Cunningham had only one concern: that they might run out of the coveted voting stickers. “They don’t play about them stickers,” she said.
Sellers said there was nothing to worry about. If a polling location runs out of anything, even stickers, officials can call to get more materials. Usually, there is someone nearby in the field to re-stock or help with other problems, so folks don’t have to come all the way from the Board of Elections office.
The polls are open until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Anyone in line by then will have the opportunity to vote.
