MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A highly debated topic meant voters showed up in high numbers for the August election in Ohio.
There was only one thing, Issue 1, on the ballot for August, but the underlying topic of Abortion access is on the ballot for November.
This meant election officials saw higher-than-expected voter turnout.
“That’s what people look at, if they believe it’s important, they will come out and vote,” Jeff Rezabek said.
Rezabek is the Montgomery County Board of Elections director.
He said Montgomery County had a 37 percent voter turnout on Tuesday, almost four times higher than a typical August election.
He expects November will also easily surpass normal totals.
>> August Special Election Results
“In an off-year election we could see presidential year-type numbers, that’s how passionate we are looking at this,” Rezabek said.
This could mean voter turnout in November is as high as 70 percent in November, he said.
With an abortion-related constitutional amendment on the ballot, he also expects an uptick in something else.
“We know there will be many more advertisements as well, that drives voter turnout,” Rezabek said.
News Center 7 previously reported that more than 85 percent of the money spent on advertising about Issue 1 came from outside the state.
Industry sources said groups from outside the state spent almost $16 million opposing Issue 1.
Out-of-state groups supporting Issue 1 spent close to $11 million.
There are already estimates that spending on the constitutional abortion ballot issue in November will escalate even further.
“I’m always excited to vote, I like to vote,” Kathy Edington of Troy said.
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Voters News Center 7 spoke with Tuesday told us they enjoyed exercising their right to vote, but not all were excited about where the money for advertising campaigns came from.
“Miles away from where you’re being affected and they’re in there trying to help you,” Eric Edington said.
There is very little rest for election workers as they will be processing mail-in ballots that can be dropped off.
For the November election, in-person early voting starts as early as October.
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