Plan on polls being packed on Election Day

LOOKING FOR POLL WORKERS

Boards of elections are frequently looking for poll workers. Those interested in becoming a poll worker in any election can receive more information online at PEOinOhio.com.

In Butler County, contact the board of elections at 513-887-3700 or visit www.butlercountyelections.org.

In Warren County, contact the board of elections at 513-695-1358 or visit www.warrencountyboe.us.

EARLY VOTING HOURS

Every board of elections in Ohio will maintain the same early voting hours. They are as follows:

Source: Ohio Secretary of State

Hundreds of new voters in Butler and Warren counties have registered to vote in November’s election over the past few weeks, and election officials expect that to ramp up before early voting begins on Oct. 12.

More than 245,000 people are registered to vote in Butler County and more than 151,000 in Warren County. That’s near the highest registration totals for Butler, and it is the highest for Warren County.

“It’s a sign people are anxious to vote this year,” said Jocelyn Bucaro, Butler County Board of Elections deputy director.

The presidential election is a matchup of Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee of either major political party, and Donald Trump, an outspoken flamboyant billionaire who has captivated the country’s far right conservative wing.

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ELECTION: Check with the Ohio Secretary of State to see if you’re registered to vote

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Butler County’s current voter registration numbers rival that of the 2008 landmark presidential election, where more than 260,000 people were registered to vote in Butler County, but only 67 percent of those people — which equates to just more than 175,000 — actually showed up to vote.

In Warren County, there’s not been any other presidential election year that had seen as many people register to vote than this year. The most voters ever to register in Warren County was in the March primary election, when just more than 146,100 people registered to vote.

“It means people are interested in getting out there and voting,” said Sleeth. “People are reaching out to people who’ve never registered before.”

Another sign of enthusiasm among voters is the number of absentee ballot requests.

With just more than four weeks before the 2016 presidential election, just less than 806,000 absentee ballot applications had been received by Sept. 24 by county boards of elections across Ohio, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office. That is 83,000 ahead of 2012’s record pace for absentee ballot applications where 1.87 million ballots were cast by mail and in-person.

Butler County has seen an increase of 26 percent of absentee ballot request forms over 2012, and Warren County has seen a 35 percent increase.

The increase in voter registration — which is an all-time high for Warren County — is a sign of enthusiasm, said Mark C. Smith, Cedarville University political science professor. He said GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump voters “are more enthusiastic” than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton supporters based on poll numbers, “but don’t underestimate those who may be fearful of a Trump presidency.”

“I see this election as emotional for all sides and in every quarter,” Smith said. “There are strong feelings — fear, anger, and pride — surrounding this race, even for those choosing not to vote out of principle.”

Miami University political science professor John Forren said he’s not surprised by the surge in voter registration for the simple fact it’s the lead up to a presidential election. However, it’s also not surprising based on the candidates involved in this election.

“Given the way that this year’s presidential race has gripped the attention of the public, one would expect to see millions of new names added to the registration rolls around the nation,” he said.

But Forren said “it’s a different question altogether” on how many of those newly registered voters will actually show up at the polls.

“And it’s that issue — actual turnout — that is the real wild card going into this presidential election, at least in Ohio,” he said.

But the high numbers also is a sign that “Ohio matters,” Smith said.

“The closeness of the election, backed up by recent polling, gives stronger incentives for people to vote, so there is no surprise this could translate into registrations also,” he said

And Forren said “it’s anyone’s guess” as to the composition of the actual voting electorate this November.