Lining up early
Voters were lined up outside Trent Arena in Kettering just as the polls opened this morning. Alexander Bair said he came to the polls early on Election Day to avoid long lines after work.
“I just figured a lot of people would be turning out this year,” he said.
Joy Bush, 67, who lives in northwest Dayton, waited in line for about an hour with her daughter, Allegro McCathron, to vote at Fairview United Methodist Church in Dayton. Bush and McCathron said they didn’t remember ever waiting that long in line to vote.
McCathron said an hour-long line isn’t ideal, but people wait that long or longer to ride rollercoasters or see concerts and voting is much more important.
Bush, who voted for Kamala Harris, said she likes voting on election day because there’s excitement and energy in the air. She said she hopes that long lines at the polls don’t end up persuading people not to vote.
“Next time, I think I’ll vote early,” Bush said.
Long lines formed early at Smith Elementary School in Oakwood. Around 7:45 a.m. the line went down the hallway and into an alcove.
Poll workers said voters started lining up at 6 a.m. and the line was out the door at three different points in the morning.
Educating her son
Erionna Johnson was also waiting in line at Fairview United Methodist Church with her son. She said he likes coming with her to vote, but also noted how it’s important for him to understand the need to vote.
She thinks some people don’t understand how important it is to use their voice by voting.
Voting for the first time
Roshauna Gilliam, 20, voted for the first time on Tuesday morning at Fairview church. Gilliam said this election matters a lot and she and most of her friends planned to head to the polls to voice their opinions.
Gilliam said she didn’t care very much about politics when she was younger, but she has become more aware of what’s going on in the world.
This election includes not just the presidential race, but also races for U.S. Senate and U.S. House, Ohio Supreme Court and Ohio Statehouse, county-level leadership, as well as a few major tax levies, and the big Issue 1 gerrymandering vote.
Multiple community members on Tuesday morning told this newspaper they were highly motivated to vote because of the historic nature of this election.
Gilliam said hopefully the long line at her polling location means that this election will see a massive turnout.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office said more than 2.5 million Ohioans had cast their ballots as of Monday. If turnout is the usual 5.6 million to 5.9 million level for a presidential year, that means 40-45% of all Ohio ballots were received before Election Day.
Wait times
Voters in line at polling locations in Huber Heights on Tuesday morning were seeing wait times at around 40-45 minutes, but the rest of the process appeared to go smoothly.
“It seemed pretty good. It seemed very thorough and quick,” said Josh Hauser, of Huber Heights.
In Kettering at Fairmont High School, poll workers said the average wait time was about 30 minutes. Other voters at around 10 a.m. Tuesday said they were only waiting in line 10-15 minutes.
Campaigning to the end
A handful of people were out campaigning outside Fairmont High School, including Shannon Crabtree, who was campaigning for Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley. She said she had not heard of any issues from voters at that location.
“Everybody’s been very friendly,” Crabtree said. “It’s been great. It’s been a pretty steady crowd.”
Rose Lounsbury, who is running for Ohio House of Representatives in District 36, was out campaigning outside Fairmont since the polls opened.
“It’s been, I think, really great,” Lounsbury said. “There has been a steady flow of people.”
At 6:30 a.m., voters were lined up outside of the building, she said.
“Generally, people have been excited and the experience has been really positive,” Lounsbury said.
How to vote: Remaining absentee ballots
Voters still holding their absentee-by-mail ballots can return them to their county board of elections office in person on Election Day. The ballot must be received no later than 7:30 p.m. The deadline to mail your ballot back in has passed.
You can turn in your own ballot inside the BOE office, or put it in the BOE’s outside drop box. If you’re trying to drop off someone else’s ballot, it must be done inside the BOE office, and there are new, strict rules about who can do this, and how.
How to vote: Voting in person
Find your polling location, ballot
Election Day voting is at the polling location assigned to you, which may be a school, church, community center or other facility. Voters can confirm their polling locations at VoterLookup.OhioSoS.gov.
What will you vote on? To see a full sample version of the ballot you will be given at the polls today, go to www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/sample-ballot/. Click your county, enter your name, then go to sample ballots.
Photo ID rules
Voters wanting to cast a ballot in-person on Election Day should make sure they bring a valid photo ID.
Valid forms of identification include an Ohio driver’s license, a U.S. passport or passport card, a state of Ohio ID card, an interim ID form issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a U.S. military ID card, an Ohio National Guard ID card, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
All ID cards must be unexpired, have a photograph of the voter and include the voter’s name as it appears on the poll list. An unexpired ID with a voter’s former address is an acceptable form of ID when the person’s current address is in the poll book, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Invalid forms of identification include out-of-state driver licenses and Social Security cards, as well as bank statements, government checks, paychecks, utility bills and more. Ohio’s new mobile ID will also not be accepted at voting locations.
Provisional ballots
Ohioans who do not come to their polling location on Election Day with a valid ID can still vote provisionally. Immediately after Election Day, provisional voters have to take another step for their ballot to count — they must come to their local election board office with a valid ID in hand within four days after Election Day.
Robust early voting season
Just a hair over 100,000 people in Montgomery County had voted early as of Monday, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s early voting dashboard — over 58,000 in person and 42,000-plus by mail.
Montgomery County Board of Elections Director Jeff Rezabek said his staff is expecting between 150,000 to 160,000 Election Day voters. He projected a voter turnout of 70-72% but challenged Montgomery County voters to exceed 80%.
“We are doing extremely well. Our staff is ready for it. Our facilities are ready for it. Let’s make Montgomery County proud of that,” said Rezabek.
