COLUMBUS- Ohio’s voter turnout for the November election, featuring the presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, was the highest ever, despite the fact that more than 2 million voters stayed home in a state the victor won by less than a half million.
Turnout was 71.33 percent, according to official presidential election results Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted certified Thursday (right), compared to 70.53 percent turnout in 2012 and 69.97 percent in 2008.
Just over 5.6 million ballots were cast this year, down about 25,000 from 2012 and about 165,000 from 2008. That is out of a pool of 7.87 million registered voters.
While a recount is underway in Wisconsin and another one may be necessary in Michigan, Trump won Ohio by a fairly comfortable 446,841-vote margin and carried 80 of the state’s 88 counties.
The President-elect received total of 2.8 million votes in Ohio, or 51.7 percent of the votes cast, to Clinton’s 2.4 million, or 43.6 percent.
2016 Presidential Election
State totals
Clinton – 2,394,164 (43.6%)
Trump – 2.841, 005 (51.7%)
Franklin Co.
Clinton – 351, 198
Trump – 199,331
Delaware Co.
Clinton – 40,872
Trump – 57,568
Fairfield Co.
Clinton – 24,881
Trump – 44,314
Licking Co.
Clinton – 27,376
Trump – 51,241
Madison Co.
Clinton – 4,779
Trump – 11,631
Pickaway Co.
Clinton – 6,529
Trump – 17,076
Union Co.
Clinton – 7,718
Trump – 18,096
Note: Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory in Franklin County (151,867) was enough to compensate for Donald Trump’s margin in the other six counties in central Ohio combined (87,771)
-Source: Ohio Secretary of State
A record 1.89 million absentee ballots were cast, a majority of them in Trump-supporting counties, while fewer people had to vote provisionally,
Roughly 155,000 provisional ballots were cast and about 85 percent were counted. That’s fewer provisionals than in 2012 or 2008 with a greater percentage counted.