Early voting hours extended
Voters can cast their ballots in person at their local board of elections offices.
From today through Friday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 6: 1 to 5 p.m.
Monday, Nov 7: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
An actor famous for his roles in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Rudy” urged Clark County voters to get to the polls this year.
He stumped the same day local board of elections extended hours for early voting.
Sean Astin, who also starred in the 1980s film “The Goonies,” made an appearance Monday at the Clark County Democratic headquarters, 42 W. High St., to urge all Ohioans to vote early.
>>RELATED: 5 things to know about Sean Astin
“I learned an expression — ‘As Ohio goes, so goes the nation,’” Astin told a crowd of about 20 Democratic party volunteers.
Astin is on the campaign trail for Democrat and former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, making stops across Ohio Monday.
Ohioans should be aware of how important their votes are by the presence of the presidential campaigns in the battle-ground state, the actor said.
“It’s really, really, really important,” Astin said.
In the past two weeks both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine made stops in Clark County.
>>READ MORE: Donald Trump fights for Ohio votes in Springfield
>>RELATED STORY: Kaine in Springfield: Ohio critical to election
Before people go to cast their votes for who will be the next president of the United States, Astin urged them to research how both Clinton and Trump stand on key issues.
Across the United States, voting districts have reported high numbers of early voters. But in Ohio, early voting numbers are lower than they were at this time in the race in 2012, Miami Valley board of elections leaders have said.
Just over a week before Election Day on Nov. 8, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that as of Oct. 28, more than 1.5 million absentee ballots had been requested statewide and more than 1 million voters have already voted early in person or returned their ballot by mail.
>> VOTERS GUIDE: Learn about Clark. Champaign County candidates, issues
Early voters have turned in more than 13,000 ballots in Clark County as of Monday morning, either by in-person early voting or mail, said Amber Lopez, deputy director of the Clark County Board of Elections.
In Champaign County, more than 4,600 ballots have been cast, according to the local board of elections office.
More than 7.8 million Ohioans are registered to vote this year, according to state data.
Starting today, Ohio’s early voting hours are extended, running from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. On Saturday, Nov. 5, local board of elections will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m. On Monday, Nov. 7, early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Voters can cast their ballots early at their local board of elections offices. In Clark County, that’s at 3130 E. Main St. in Springfield and in Champaign County at 1512 S. U.S. 68, Suite L-100 in Urbana.
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