COLUMBUS – Ohioans who have not already cast their ballots head to the polls today to participate in one of the most unusual and consequential elections in recent history.
Polls in Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Ohio’s role as a bellwether for the nation remains in play this year after Democrat Joe Biden mounted a strong challenge to Republican President Donald Trump for the state’s 18 electoral votes.
A ballot issue in Columbus would create a citizen review board to oversee the operations of the Division of Police.
A number of Ohio’s U.S. House seats are also on the ballot, including Cincinnati’s District 1 matching Democrat Kate Schroder and 12-term Republican Rep. Steve Chabot.
Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who refused to step aside from his reelection bid despite facing charges in a $60 million bribery scheme, is squaring off against four write-in candidates.
Never before in modern history have voters faced a choice between two candidates who offered such opposite visions at a time of such trial — as the nation confronts a virus that has killed 230,000 Americans, the starkest economic contraction since the Great Depression and a citizenry divided on cultural and racial issues.
Find out more about voting and Election Day 2020 here
There were problems reported early Tuesday as Franklin County elections officials were forced to revert to using backup paper poll books to sign voters in at more than 300 polling locations after an electronic system malfunctioned.
“The Franklin County Board of Elections will be using its backup paper poll books to check in voters today. This is why we have contingency plans in place and the process is working. We decided to go with the backup paper poll books to ensure that one voter can only cast one vote,” board officials wrote in a tweet.
A record 3.4 million Ohio voters cast early ballots by mail or in person by Monday afternoon and there were nearly a quarter-million absentee ballots still outstanding, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Nearly 100 million Americans cast their ballots before Election Day.
Both candidates spent their final day of campaigning trying to nail down votes in key states like Ohio. Biden charged into states that were once seen as safely Republican, looking to lock down his path to the White House.
“We’re done with the chaos, we’re done with the tweets, the anger, the hate, the failure, the irresponsibility,” Biden told a rally in Cleveland Monday.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday show Biden with a narrow 4-point lead over Trump in the Buckeye State, which Trump won by 8 points in 2016.
The former vice president is competitive in all the battleground states Trump carried in 2016 and has put a handful of traditional Republican states, including Georgia and Arizona, in play.
Winding up his campaign in Grand Rapids, Mich., Trump declared he would win the state “so easily” as he rallied supporters in a midnight gathering. Trump can win by defending a wide swath of territory he won in 2016, including Michigan, but his hopes for reelection are heavily dependent on the swing states of Florida and Pennsylvania.
Other states to watch include Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Trump continued to deliver the incendiary yet unproven allegation that the election would be rigged, stoking fears that post-election protests might turn violent.
“We have a long history of running good elections in this country and in this state. I think people should have confidence they can go to the polls,” Gov. Mike DeWine said last Thursday.
He told reporters he had spoken with the leaders of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the state National Guard about Election Day security.
Windows of businesses in downtown Columbus were boarded up Monday as a precaution.
U.S. director Dan Vallone, of the nonpartisan organization More in Common says new research on voters’ opinions found that, while only 41% of Americans believe the federal government is prepared to keep the election secure, 68% have confidence in their local officials.
“Most Americans trust that, at the local level, we’re going to get this election right, that our system has the capacity to deliver a legitimate result, and that our democracy has handled challenges before and that we’re going to do it again this year,” he said.
Anyone who experiences any election irregularities at a polling site is urged to call 877-767-6446 or email report@ohioSoS.gov.