Election Day in Ohio: Voting process, local turnout and more updates
Each day Samantha Brunn checked the mail for her absentee ballot.
As Ohio’s mail-in deadline quickly approached, the law school student in Minneapolis, began to worry her ballot would not arrive in time. She continued to check the absentee ballot tracker on the Wayne County Board of Election’s website. When her ballot didn’t arrive Saturday, she decided to fly home to ensure she could participate in the 2020 general election.
Absentee voting by mail and early in-person voting began Oct. 6 — 28 days before the election. Many voters, like Brunn, cast their ballots before the polls opened this morning. Nearly 40% of Wayne County's more than 74,000 registered voters either turned out to vote in person or returned absentee ballots as of Monday morning.
Heading home
Brunn, a 2016 Wooster High School graduate, has participated in each election since turning 18 with the exception of the May 2016 primary.
When Brunn was a senior in high school, she was at a speech and debate tournament during the primary. Brunn said she regretted not remembering to request an absentee ballot. As an undergrad at Miami University, she voted absentee each of her four years there.
"I've always been super big into voting and practicing civic engagement," Brunn said. "... I didn't want to feel that way again, and I thought this was much more high-stakes."
The 23-year-old requested her absentee ballot in mid-September.
Though the absentee ballot was sent her way Oct. 16, she still had not received it by midday Saturday. Brunn was concerned even if the ballot did arrive before the Monday deadline it would not make its way back to the Board of Elections by the 10-day cutoff.
"I didn't think it was going to be possible," Brunn said. "I decided I would regret it if I didn't vote, so I flew home."
Brunn used her airline miles for her ticket and boarded a plane at 6 a.m. Sunday for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. She was able to vote in person at the Wayne County elections board before early voting ended at 2 p.m. Monday. She estimated it took 45 minutes to get through the line.
The journey to the voting booth, however, was well worth the trip, Brunn said.
“Local communities are super important, and I think it’s always imperative that we remember where we came from and how we can use all of our life experiences to bring positive change to the places that gave us so much," Brunn said.
COVID-19 precautions
A box of masks and hand sanitizer were available for voters Tuesday on a table just inside the door at Schmid Hall in Orrville, which is the voting location for two precincts.
People coming in formed two lines with yellow tape marking six feet between voters. Two workers wearing gloves sanitized voting cards and stylus pens. All poll workers and voters were masked.
Barabara Simonsen, one of two voting location managers there, said two additional poll workers were provided by the Board of Elections to help with sanitizing and disinfecting efforts. She added Schmid Hall is a spacious voting location, which allowed workers to easily social distance voters.
Simonsen was pleasantly surprised by the number of younger poll workers. Out of the 12 workers assigned to the double precinct, three of them had worked elections before, she said. Simonsen added all the new poll workers were well trained and the morning had been running smoothly.
Voter turnout
Many Wayne County precincts saw a strong voter turnout in the early morning hours and a steady stream throughout the day.
Connection Church on Portage Road in Wooster is the polling location for four precincts. The polling location manager said the voter turnout before 11 a.m. was light compared to past elections. The number of people voting early or absentee, however, was significantly higher than past elections, she said.
Denne Kalamaras, 65, of Wooster, guessed the voting location was busier than normal, noting he's voted at Connection Church for the last 10 years.
Just before noon there was roughly a 45-minute wait at the Sugar Creek Township precinct at the P. Graham Dunn retail store in Dalton. The line stretched from the front door, under the staircase and back around to the voting machines.
Voters were also lined out the door at Murray Hall in Creston in the early afternoon. They were deciding the fate of a fire and EMS levy for the Canaan Township Fire Department, which was passed last year then revoked due to a mistake in the ballot language.
For Wayne County, the number of people voting early has increased significantly compared to past years.
In 2018, roughly 27% of voters cast an absentee ballot, according to county elections officials. In 2016, nearly 31% voted absentee.
In Holmes County, 44% of the 18,286 registered voters had cast a ballot before Tuesday with 8,105 voters either mailing in an absentee or going to the Board of Elections for early voting.
Ashland County saw 9,917 votes filed in person during early voting. The Board of Elections sent out 6,686 mail-in ballots and received 6,163 back. Amanda Jones, deputy director of the board, said more than 40% of Ashland's registered voters turned out prior to Election Day.
The 2020 presidential election has generated the largest voter turnout for early voting than any other election in Ashland, Jones said. Though she couldn’t say for sure what led to the increase, she speculates it's because more people are aware that early voting is available, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Lake Township poll workers processed their first curbside vote Tuesday morning. The voter was a Hillsdale School bus driver who couldn't come inside because he is under quarantine. A poll worker donned PPE gear to retrieve the voter's ballot.
Voters' voices
Jim Park, of Ashland, voted at Mozelle Hall at the Ashland County Fairgrounds. It was the first time the 54-year-old turned out to vote. He supports Donald Trump because Park is "pleased with the job he’s done the last four years.”
“Believe it or not, this is my first time voting," Park said. "I wanted to see what the experience was like even if I had to wait in a long line, which luckily, I didn’t."
Tonia Hadley, 43, and husband, Josh, both of Ashland, voted at the Kroc Center polling place. Both voted for the reelection of Trump.
“It's our duty to show up in person and vote because it’s a privilege, and we all need to exercise that privilege," Josh Hadley said.
Darnell Edwards, 49, of Wooster, voted at Connection Church. Edwards said he finds Trump's behavior radical and spontaneous, which are not suitable qualities for a president. He voted for Biden, hoping he will lead the country with more structure if elected.
"Everything (Trump) did wasn't bad," Edwards said. "... We're human. I get it, everyone makes mistakes. I know Trump isn't perfect, but he's just too unorganized for me. You don't know what to expect."
Edwards added he wasn't pleased with Trump's response to the coronavirus.
"I didn't like it at all," he said. "This is serious business."
Jeremiah Bauman, 30, Orrville, voted for Trump. The decision was not one Bauman took lightly. Though Bauman said he does not like Trump as a person, he feels his views more closely align with Trump's policies.
Bauman referred to himself as an "apologetic Trump voter." In the 2016 election, Bauman said he voted for John Kasich, the 69th governor of Ohio.
Between the two presidential candidates, Biden is probably the more likeable, Bauman said. However, he was swayed by Trump's pro-life stance.
Trump's economic policies and efforts to improve relationships with Middle eastern countries have been positive steps forward, Bauman said. Trump's initiatives to bring jobs back from overseas through trade agreements also led Bauman to vote Trump.
"I probably do like Joe Biden more as a person because I think he's probably a nicer guy," Bauman said. "But from a policy standpoint, I am pro-life, and so that definitely influenced how I vote."
Ashland Times-Gazette correspondent Irv Oslin, photographer Tom Puskar and Wooster Daily Record reporter Emily Morgan contributed to this report.
Reach Samantha at 330-287-1626
Email: Samantha.Ickes@the-daily-record.com
On Twitter: @SamanthaKIckes