COLUMBUS – Voters head to the polls in Ohio and three other states on Tuesday to cast ballots in the latest round of presidential primary elections. But they do it under the pall of a spreading coronavirus outbreak.
Ohio’s polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. but early in-person voting continues Monday until 2:00 p.m. and Secretary of State Frank LaRose has ordered county boards of elections to provide bipartisan teams to accept curbside absentee ballot drop-off at their locations on election day during voting hours.
For Ohioans voting by mail, ballots must be postmarked by midnight Monday.
Once considered the country’s ultimate swing state but is now trending Republican, Ohio is a largely white state that’s barely growing its population and still looking to rebound from a decline in manufacturing.
The state is holding its primary alongside Arizona, Illinois and Florida.
In their first one-on-one debate of the Democratic presidential campaign, former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders faced off Sunday night in what could be a clarifying night in the race.
The two men had modest clashes, but the debate carried a mainly civil tone and a unified opposition to President Donald Trump.
Biden has a strong lead in delegates needed to win the nomination heading in Tuesday’s voting.
In a debate carried out in an empty CNN studio due to coronavirus concerns, Sanders acknowledged Biden has won more states but says to defeat Trump “you have to bring young people, who are not great voters.” He says his young supporters bring energy and excitement.
Biden says he’s the candidate who is exciting voters, noting a big surge in voter turnout in some of the states he won.