In addition to the abortion and marijuana issues, many voters voted for their mayors, township leaders, and school board and city council members for the next four years. Others cast ballots on tax increases or renewals for schools, police and fire services, roadwork and a host of other purposes.
For live results tonight, visit your local Cox news website: DaytonDailyNews.com, SpringfieldNewsSun.com or Journal-News.com.
No issues reported by election officials
Election officials in Butler, Miami, Montgomery, Greene, Butler, Warren and Clark counties reported high voter turnout.
The Butler County Board of Elections reported a 40% voter turnout on Tuesday evening, with 75,000 Election Day voters coming to their polling locations.
Butler County did not report any abnormal issues at polling locations Tuesday afternoon.
“Nothing that’s abnormal that we haven’t seen prior. Just a few poll workers who may have overslept that have called in and either couldn’t make it, and we’re just replacing those,” said Nicole Unzicker, director of the Butler County Board of Elections. “Nothing that is out of the ordinary.”
In Warren County, election board director Brian Sleeth reported that the county was nearing 52,000 Election Day voters. His county also saw a robust early voting season, with 24,000 ballots cast. This brought the county up to a 44.5% voter turnout.
Clark County has seen more than 26,000 Election Day voters as of late Tuesday afternoon, said Jason Baker, director of the Clark County Board of Elections.
No major issues with equipment and polling locations were reported as of Tuesday evening.
“Everything is up and running smoothly,” Baker said.
Polls opened on time in Montgomery County and have had a steady voter turnout, said Jeff Rezabek, Montgomery County Board of Elections director.
There haven’t been any significant issues or concerns with voting equipment other than basic problems where poll workers may have had to turn a computer off and then back on as of Tuesday afternoon, Montgomery County election officials said.
Laura Bruns, director of the Miami County Board of Elections, said polling places were busier than normal. Overall, she’s expecting a turnout of 50% or slightly more.
The county is using new pollbooks this election, and despite some small issues that were quickly resolved things have been going well on Election Day, she said.
She said she was expecting lines to form outside of her county’s polling location in the evening hours as people clock off from their jobs for the day.
Greene County Board of Elections Director Alisha Lampert also said Greene County is seeing more voters at the polls than usual.
No issues had been reported in the county as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Voters decided on state, local issues
Voters in Tipp City are got in and out of their polling locations quickly. The polling location at St. John sees about 60% of voters in Tipp City with the seven precincts voting at that location. Updated equipment was making the check-in process for voters more quickly, Robinson said.
Voting went smoothly at the St. John location, voters like Brian Lowe and Travis Beeson said.
“It’s always good at this precinct,” said Pete Winner.
Issues 1 and 2 were the big priorities, St. John voters like Carol Farron told the Dayton Daily News. Issues with their full language were displayed at the location in case residents had any questions about what they were seeing on their ballots.
“I’ve never had one this big,” Robinson said about the issues display.
At the Beavercreek High School polling location, three local races and the two statewide issues helped fuel steady voter turnout throughout the day, according to voting location manager Becky O’Connor.
When her polling location opened its doors at 6:30 Tuesday, a crowd of people were waiting outside, ready to vote before heading into work for the day. Into the afternoon, voters were coming in at a steady pace, she said.
“It’s been a busy, really consistent flow throughout the day,” she said.
Beavercreek voted on leadership positions like the mayor seat, city council and the Beavercreek City Schools Board of Education.
For Beavercreek resident Roger Bush, Issue 1 was a pressing matter he wanted to have a voice on. But he considers voting his civic duty.
“It ultimately gives the populace a word on how the government is run,” Bush said.
Beavercreek voter Virgil Hemphill said voting is important, “now more than ever.”
He said he votes regularly, but he wanted to help decide on local leadership in addition to the two state issues.
“Voting gives you a right to complain,” the man said, laughing. “If you don’t show up to vote, you can’t be too mad about the results, right?”
At the Dayton Masonic Center polling location, Issues 1 and 2 were also drawing in voters, with more than 200 people coming in to vote in the morning, according to polling location leaders.
Roxanne Taylor, 70, of Dayton, said she votes in every election, but Issue 2 and her local commission race were particularly interesting to her.
“You need to make your voice heard on local issues, too,” she said. “Those issues matter to you, too.”
