UPDATE @ 6:22 p.m.
With about an hour until the closing of the polls, elections officials are expected to see an increase in voters as they head home from work.
A check of various county Boards of Elections indicate that voter turnout is on the low side and have reported only minor glitches throughout the Ohio Primary Election Day. Most elections officials anticipate a turnout of around 20%.
In Warren County, Elections Director Brian Sleeth said about 20,000 people or about 20% of the voters in Warren County voted on Election Day with another 10% or so opting to vote early or absentee. He believes there will be a rush of after-work voters casting their ballots. Sleeth said there were no issues reported from the polls throughout the day.
“I think its slower that it was four years ago,” he said.
Jeff Rezabek, Montgomery County elections director, said everything has “gone surprisingly well” except for a few minor glitches. He said tax issues in various jurisdictions are drawing people to the polls.
He said at about 4 p.m., turnout was about 12%. He’d like to see a 20% turnout by the end of the night.
“Voters still have until 7:30 p.m. and if they in line at that time, they will be permitted to vote,” Rezabek said.
Over in Greene County, Elections Director Alisha Lampert said voter turnout has been steady but not busy or overwhelming. She said there were no issues reported during the day and expects a rush before the polls close.
Butler County Elections Director Nicole Unzicker said there were no issues and nothing out of the ordinary. “We had a quiet day,” she said.
Before 6 p.m., Unzicker said they exceeded their prediction of 15% to 17% and believes they might go over 18% by the end of the evening. She said some communities such as Liberty Twp. and Fairfield had issues that attracted more voters to the polls. However, there was a lack of countywide issues to draw voters.
Miami County Elections Director Laura Bruns said she was expecting a large voter turnout from people coming home from work. Bruns said she was still sticking to her voter turnout prediction of 25% to 30%. She said everything ran smooth during election day, but Tuesday will not have the turnout that came out during the August special election.
INITIAL STORY
Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. for today’s election that includes primary races for the U.S. Senate, Congress, Statehouse seats and local leadership, with candidates seeking their party nomination to advance to the ballot this fall. It will also include tax levies and other local issues.
Polls will close at 7:30 p.m.
Voters can confirm their polling locations at VoterLookup.OhioSoS.gov.
Many local boards of elections have reported only minor issues with today’s election, such as a few poll workers arriving late or a minor technology issue.
Butler County has had nothing unusual, said Nicole Unzicker, director of the Butler County Board of Elections.
“No major issues, all polling locations open on time and things are going smooth,” said Jeff Rezabek, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
“No issues reported. There’s been minor things reported to us about campaign signs being in the wrong place, and we’ve looked into those, but there’s nothing major in Clark County,” said Jason Baker, director of the Clark County Board of Elections.
“Greene County has not had any issues,” said Alisha Lampert, director of the Greene County Board of Elections.
Miami County has not seen any significant issues, director Laura Bruns of the Miami County Board of Elections said.
Voter turnout in the primary has been light, directors have said.
Turnout in Butler County was at approximately 10,900 Election Day voters shortly after 11 a.m., which was approximately 8.6% voter turnout.
Montgomery County reported 5% voter turnout at around 11 a.m., and Clark County reported approximately 4.5% voter turnout Tuesday morning.
Greene County also reported a low turnout Tuesday morning.
“Hopefully it picks up by the afternoon,” Lampert said.
Miami County anticipates it will see between 25-30% voter turnout by the time the polls close, Bruns said.
What to know about the races and issues
• 10 things to know about today’s election
• Three candidates compete in U.S. Senate Republican primary
• Learn about candidates for Congress in three local districts
• Statehouse races: Check new maps, who’s running in your area
• Ohio Supreme Court lookahead as court hits pivotal year
• County government: Multiple races for Commissioner, Sheriff
• Tax levy roundup: Who’s seeking funding for schools, police, roads?
• Presidential year: Biden, Trump race set; many issues on the table
Contacting election boards
Butler County
1802 Princeton Road, Suite 600, Hamilton, OH 45011. Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (513) 887-3700 Fax: (513) 887-5535. E-mail: butler@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.elections.bcohio.gov
Champaign County
1512 S. U.S. 68, Suite L100, Urbana, OH 43078. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 484-1575 Fax: (937) 484-1578. E-mail: champaig@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/champaign
Clark County
3130 E. Main St., Springfield, OH 45505. Mailing Address: PO Box 1766 Springfield, OH 45501-1766. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 521-2120 Fax: (937) 328-2603. E-mail: elections@clark.boe.ohio.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/clark/
Greene County
551 Ledbetter Road, Xenia, OH 45385. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 562-6170 Fax: (937) 562-6171. E-mail: greene@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.greene.boe.ohio.gov
Miami County
215 W. Main St., Troy, OH 45373. Office Hours: 8 a.m-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 440-3900 Fax: (937) 440-3901. E-mail: miami@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/miami/
Montgomery County
451 W. Third St. Dayton, OH 45422. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 225-5656 Fax: (937) 496-7798. E-mail: web@montgomery.boe.ohio.gov. Website: www.montgomery.boe.ohio.gov
Warren County
520 Justice Dr., Lebanon, OH 45036. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (513) 695-1358 Fax: (513) 695-2953. E-mail: wcboe@warrencountyohio.gov. Website: www.vote.warrencountyohio.gov
