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‘More convenient;’ Hundreds head to Greene County polls as early voting begins

By WHIO Staff

Election 2024 Voting Begins "I Voted Early" stickers sit in a bucket by the ballot box at the City of Minneapolis early voting center, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. In-person voting in the 2024 presidential contest begins Friday in three states, including Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz's home state of Minnesota, with just over six weeks left before Election Day. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher) (Adam Bettcher/AP)

By WHIO Staff

GREENE COUNTY — Early voting began in Ohio on Tuesday and hundreds went to the polls to cast their votes.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, more than 100 voters in Greene County cast their ballots in the first 30 minutes of polls opening.

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Voters told News Center 7 that they like the idea of getting their voting done early.

“To get it over with, get my vote in. And I’m like, I know it’s going to get counted,” Franklin Blackstone said.

Blackstone was at the Greene County Board of Elections casting his vote early on Tuesday.

He said his voting experience this year was different than what he’s used to.

“It alleviates the congestion on Election Day, which is exciting. I’ve worked several election days and there was a line here, but it moved quickly,” Blackstone said.

Blackstone said he was unaware that early voting is the same as absentee voting since voters are absent from the National Election Day on Nov. 5.

Voters said the lines were moving fast, which is the result of some upgrades done by the Board of Elections.

“We added eight additional workstations. It only used to be four. And then we used to only have 15 machines. We have 30 setups now,” Greene County Board of Elections Director Alisha Beeler said.

Beeler said the Secretary of State tasked the BOE to decrease wait times for voters after the 2020 election.

“It was a weird election year with COVID, the wait times were a lot longer. And so, when I came on, that was something they addressed with me right away,” Beeler said.

Other people said the upgrades are working and they enjoyed their experience voting early.

“It is so much nicer than having to wait in line on Election Day. It’s just much more convenient,” Dan Duffy said.

“We’ve done this a few times for the past couple elections and we’ll continue to do it,” Patti Duffy said.

Poll workers told News Center 7 that more than 1,300 votes were cast at the Greene County Board of Elections on Tuesday.

Those looking to cast their votes early have until Nov. 3.

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