Montgomery County Board of Elections director Jeff Rezabek said his office saw a slight uptick in voters during the final week of early voting. A little more than 1,000 people have come to his office to cast a ballot in person as of late this week.
In Montgomery County, a total of 2,544 absentee ballots have been requested. As of Friday morning, only 1,166 were returned.
Voter turnout is typically lower in years that don’t feature state and national races. Rezabek said his office is expecting a low voter turnout, but he’s hoping for at least double digits in percentage of total registered voters.
The election board director said this primary election has multiple tax issues, as well as a statewide bond issue, that could draw voters to their polling locations on Election Day. Huber Heights could see more interest, he said, as its ballots include an income tax renewal and a continuing 6.9-mill school levy.
“If we can get the voters out, that’s what we want to have happen,” Rezabek said. “And if you have a less than 10% turnout, I encourage the public to look at that and say, ‘You’re allowing less than 10% of the people to decide your taxes, your people representing you in your local government.’ I would encourage all of you to get out and vote.”
Warren County has seen 620 early voters casting their ballots in person. Warren County Board of Elections director Brian Sleeth said that number, although accurate, includes his own pollworkers who have cast ballots this election.
“We haven’t even hit 1% yet,” said Sleeth.
When asked for his prediction of overall voter turnout, Sleeth had this to say: “I would be shocked if we got to 10%.”
Aside from the state issue, Franklin residents have two new levies on their ballots, Sleeth said. This includes a 6.301-mill levy for operations at Franklin Schools, as well as a 4.9-mill levy for fire services.
In Greene County, only 985 absentee ballots have been requested, and 560 ballots have returned to the Greene County Board of Elections as of Friday.
Another 1,464 Greene County voters have voted in person this election, according to Ohio Secretary of State data.
Early voting ends on Sunday, with no in-person voting occurring the following day. Polling locations open at 6:30 a.m. across the state on Tuesday.
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