COLUMBUS – After what seems like an interminable run-up to the first midterm elections of the Donald Trump era, it’s time for voters to finally put in their two cents’ worth.
Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m
Absentee ballots must be returned to Board of Elections office, not polling locations
Find your polling location and view a sample ballot here.
Have questions or need a ride? Call the League of Women Voters: 614-210-0746
State election officials say voting appeared to be going smoothly at polls in Ohio early on Election Day.
A spokesman for Ohio’s Secretary of State’s Office said no major problems were reported in the first few hours of voting Tuesday. Spokesman Sam Rossi said the state had no turnout predictions yet.
Ohioans have some big choices to make this Election Day. Besides a statewide ballot measure prison sentencing for drug offenders, voters will decide on several statewide races, including who will be the next governor. There are also several races for seats in the U-S House, and one of Ohio’s seats in the U-S Senate.
CoGo Bike Share is offering free rides on Election Day. Uber & Lyft are offering discounts
Questions or problems? Call 866-OUR-VOTE
Eight million Ohioans are registered to vote and an estimated 1.3 million absentee ballots had been cast statewide by Monday evening, 62 percent more than in 2014.
While absentee ballots needed to be postmarked by Monday, they can be turned in today in person, says Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
“If you have an absentee ballot that you have not returned, you should drive that to the Board of Elections. Don’t take it to your polling location, take it to your county Board of Elections office,” she said.
Miller reminds voters to bring proper identification, which can be a government photo ID, utility bill, even a speeding ticket, as long as it has the voter’s current address.
What to Bring:
Ohio driver’s license or state identification card with present or former address
A military identification
Government-issued photo ID that contains the voter’s name and current address
Current utility bill
Current bank statement
Current government check with the voter’s name and present address
Current paycheck with the voter’s name and present address
Other government document that shows the voter’s name and present address
Turnout will be key Tuesday as Ohioans decide the competitive race for their next governor.
Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine, one of the state’s best known politicians, faces Democrat Richard Cordray, the Obama-era consumer watchdog, for the chance to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. John Kasich.
The only thing that’s certain this Election Day is that nothing is certain.
Anxious Republicans privately expressed confidence in their narrow Senate majority but feared the House was slipping away. Trump, the GOP’s chief messenger, warned that significant Democratic victories would trigger devastating consequences.
“If the radical Democrats take power they will take a wrecking ball to our economy and our future,” Pres. Donald Trump declared in Cleveland Monday, using the same heated rhetoric that has defined much of his presidency. He added: “The Democrat agenda is a socialist nightmare.”
Democrats in Ohio are trying to turn a recent Republican tide in statewide races, relying on a ticket led by a familiar U.S. senator.
Sherrod Brown, first elected to an Ohio office in 1974, is seeking his third Senate term against fourth-term U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci.
The Democrats’ best chances for upsets appear to be in central Ohio’s 12th district, where Republican Troy Balderson, a former state senator, barely defeated Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor in an August special election, and in southwest Ohio’s 1st District, where Democratic upstart Aftab Pureval ran a well-funded race against Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, who is seeking his 12th term.