Those voting no on Issue 1 totaled 16,015, according to unofficial results. Yes voters were one vote less than that with 16,014.
Jason Baker, director of the Clark County Board of Elections, said about 260 provisional ballots remain to be checked and 119 outstanding absentee ballots could come in still. If the absentee ballots were postmarked by Monday and are received by Saturday, they will be counted.
Statewide, voters rejected Issue 1 by a margin of 57% to 43%, according to unofficial numbers.
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How did those voting early vs. those on Election Day break down in Clark County? Voting absentee by mail totaled 1,805 people, while early in-person had 5,857 voters. On Tuesday, 24,377 people cast ballots.
The 37.1% turnout represented 32,039 of Clark County’s 86,422 registered voters.
Officials said the turnout was strong for an August special election.
“I’ve been doing this for just over eight years now, and we’ve had a few special elections, and this one was unprecedented,” Baker said. “We were busy; we had small lines at locations unlike other counties, but the poll workers in Clark County got them through quickly.”
Most of those who voted early voted against the issue, according to research from Dan Harkins, former Clark County Republican party chairman. He said 33.25% of early and absentee votes were to approve the issue, while 66.75% were opposed. He said the majority of Moorefield Twp. and Springfield city voted “no,” while “the balance of Clark County was ‘yes.’”
Chris Creamer, deputy director of the Champaign County Board of Elections, said he was pleased with the 39 percent turnout there.
“I was personally surprised,” Creamer said, noting others in the office were not.
He said a special election in the middle of the county fair was one reason turnout surprised him.
Champaign County voters favored Issue 1 about 62% to 38%, or 6,447 votes to 3,894.
“We always want people to vote,” Creamer said, noting early voting offers several opportunities. “I am just happy people came out and voted.”
He said the office was pleased with the county’s poll workers but encouraged residents to sign up for future election work.
“November is right around the corner,” he said.
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