Many Ohioans are casting their votes for the March 4th primary almost a month in advance. Starting Friday, county elections boards are sending out absentee ballots to voters who requested them. Or, voters may go to their local elections office to pick up a ballot and vote in person.
Ben Piscitelli, spokesperson for the Franklin County Board of Election says voters in the county seem to be taking advantage of absentee voting.
In January we mailed notices to all 780,000 voters in Franklin County that included an application to vote absentee. So far 80,000 of those people have returned applications requesting an absentee ballot.
State election officials say they have received more than 187,000 requests for absentee ballots. Jim Readey was one of those voters. However, the 63 year old showed up in person at the Franklin County Board of Elections, because he was afraid he had made a mistake on his application. Readey says this election is to important to risk not having his vote count.
I had sent in an application for an absentee ballot but I was pretty sure I failed to check the box as to what party I wanted to vote in the primary so out of caution I came down here because I understood this was the only day I could do it before I left on my trip.
Vince Shearer is voting absentee for the first time. He also says this election seems more important than past ones. Shearer wanted to cast his vote the first chance he had.
I want my vote to count. I want to be in there. I am very excited about this election this year and I want to make sure my voice is heard this time.
Excitement was a motivator for a few people who showed up at the polls. First-time-voter Miles Yetter is a student at Hidleberg Collegein Tiffin, Ohio. He made the near two-hour trip to Columbus because he has football practice on March 4th. The 18-year-old says he has strong opinions about this election and he wanted to make sure he got the chance to voice them. Yetter's step-father, Greg Finnerty, was with him. Finnerty says it is important for him to share the election process with his step-son.
I felt it was worth it to accompany him and I'm excited for him to cast his fist vote and I know he is excited and I know he has told me a lot of is friends on his campus are excited to vote for the first time.
Finnerty says he voted absentee for the first time in 2006 and now he plans on doing it every year. He says it is convenient and it just makes more sense.
Voters can vote absentee from now until March third.