Ohio set record for early voting in November election

More than 71 percent of registered Ohioans voted in the Nov. 8 election and the state set a new high for the number of early voters.

But while turnout was among the highest in recent elections, it was far from the record 77 percent voter turnout in 1992, when Bill Clinton won Ohio and the presidency against then-President George H.W. Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted Thursday certified the official results of the 2016 General Election.

Here are some of the highlights:

5,607,641 Ohioans cast ballots out of 7,861,025 registered voters, for a voter turnout of 71.33 percent;

President-Elect Donald Trump carried 80 of Ohio’s 88 counties — including Montgomery, Clark, Butler, Greene, Miami, Warren, Preble, Darke, Shelby and Champaign counties;

1,890,069 absentee ballots were cast, topping the 2012 total of 1,876,174 and the 2008 figure of 1,717,256. About 34 percent of all ballots cast came before Election Day.

Democrats historically have done better in early voting, but that may not be the case this year. Of the counted absentee ballots, 56.8 percent were cast in counties won by Trump and just 43.2 percent in the counties won by Clinton.

154,965 provisional ballots were cast, down from the 208,084 that had provisional ballots in 2012. The provisional ballots broke roughly evenly between President-elect Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with Trump receiving 50.3 percent and Hillary Clinton 49.6 percent.

“As we close the books on another election, one thing that is abundantly clear is that Ohio is a national leader in elections administration as our state once again has delivered a well-run election,” Husted said in a statement. “Despite the unwarranted predictions of a troubled election, it is clear that voters had a great experience and the 2016 presidential election in Ohio was free of any major problems.”

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Anthony Shoemaker