Ohio polls have now closed and the votes are now being added up.
Lines to vote were hours-long at several polling locations this morning after polls opened at 6:30 a.m., but died down after the morning rush. In Greene County, voting machines went down at one polling location in Bellbrook and voters had to cast paper ballots. Machines were back in operation by 10:45 a.m.
In Montgomery County, Board of Elections Director Jan Kelley said long lines may be indicative of high voter turnout. She said she’s predicting 75 percent participation from the 372,000 registered voters in the county. Over 102,000 absentee ballots were requested, and Montgomery County BOE has received 93,646 back so far. More than 57,000 voted early.
The drop box for absentee ballots was open until 7:30 p.m. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 2 and received by Nov. 12 to count.
If we do see a 75 percent voter turnout in Montgomery County, that would mean 120,000 head to the polls to vote in-person today.
In Miami County, a SUV crashed into a polling location in Tipp City around 9 a.m. The driver was still able to go inside and vote, and voting issues weren’t impacted.
In Clark County, about 14,600 ballots were cast by the afternoon. people have voted so far today. With today’s votes, the county is at 50 percent voter turnout.
Board of Elections for Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Logan, Preble, Shelby, Warren and Mercer counties are all reporting no major issues.
Since Oct. 6, county Boards of Elections have been able to process, but not tabulate, absentee ballots. Each board must upload absentee vote totals by 8 p.m. unless voting technology prohibits them to do so.
Record numbers of voters have already cast their ballots by voting early or by absentee. As of Monday evening, about 44 percent, or 446,000, of Miami Valley voters had already cast their ballots.
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Secretary of State Frank LaRose posted a video to Twitter offering an update on voting in Ohio: