In-depth coverage
The Springfield News-Sun provides unmatched election coverage in Clark and Champaign counties.
Voting hours: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Board of Elections: Clark County Board of Elections: 3130 E Main St, Springfield, 937-521-2120
Champaign County Board of Elections: 1512 S. U.S. Highway 68, Suite L-100, Urbana, 937-484-1575
Check the Clark and Champaign election websites to find your precinct. Clark County changes dozens of precincts earlier this year. Clark County: http://www.electionsonthe.net/oh/clark/
Champaign County: http://www.electionsonthe.net/oh/champaign/
About half of Clark and Champaign County voters will likely cast a vote in the general election Tuesday, elections official predicted.
Clark County Board of Elections officials mailed out more than 7,000 absentee ballots and about 5,900 have been returned. In 2010 — the last gubernatorial race — nearly 10,000 absentee ballots were cast.
“It’s a little lower than we had anticipated. But as far as the overall turnout, I’m a little concerned we have quite a few that are still outstanding,” said Matthew Tlachac, Clark County Board of Elections director. “… It’s somewhat typical to have several hundred not returned, but I would hope we wouldn’t have that big of a gap.”
Voter turnout for the last gubernatorial race in Clark and Champaign counties was 50.8 percent and 52 percent, respectively, when now-Gov. John Kasich defeated then-incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland by 2 percentage points. But this year, polls show Kasich reportedly has an overwhelming lead over his Democratic challenger, Ed FitzGerald.
The biggest draws locally are the Urbana Schools bond issue in Champaign County that would generate $31.3 million, the district’s share of a total $68.2 million project to construct new school buildings. In Clark County the Ohio 79th District seat between Republican Kyle Koehler and Democrat Darrell Jackson will likely draw voters.
Other races include the Clark County commission race between incumbent Rick Lohnes, a Republican, and David Herier, a Democrat, and the race for county auditor between incumbent John Federer and Nikki Crawford, a former county auditor employee.
Tlachac initially said he wasn’t sure how many residents would cast ballots on Election Day, but later said between 50 and 60 percent of the county’s more than 88,255 registered voters would likely vote Tuesday.
“It could go either way … People have a full-day, 13 hour day to come and vote and we want them to take advantage of that opportunity to do that,” he said. “But normally a lower absentee turnout would indicate that your turnout on Election Day may not be a strong as you thought.”
Champaign County Board of Elections Director Kathy Meyer said about 2,700 voters cast absentee ballots as of Tuesday morning, fewer than the 2,920 who voted absentee in the last gubernatorial election in 2010 in Champaign County.
“We’re kind of at a point where we’re breaking even with these absentees because it seems like with every election for the last three years we’d have a few more than what we had that same election four years ago … For this election we haven’t quite reached the same number that we had,” Meyer said
Voter turnout in Champaign County was about 52 percent.
“I don’t think it would be much different than four years ago,” Meyer said.
While the governor’s race won’t be as tight as the Kasich and Strickland race, she said the Urbana Schools bond issue has caught the interest of many registered voters.
“The school levies always bring more people in and we’ve got the big one for Urbana City Schools that I think more people from the city have come out to vote,” Meyer said.
About the Author