Last week, the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) praised Ohio voters for a successful election.
"We are so grateful for the record number of Ohio voters who turned out to vote through our three secure methods of voting: absentee voting by mail, in-person absentee voting, and Election Day voting," said Michelle Wilcox, OAEO's president. "Nearly 5.8 million Ohioans have already made their voices heard for everything from the President of the United States, to local liquor option issues.
Ohio appears poised to eclipse previous turnout records with 5.76 million votes having already been counted and 311,000 outstanding absentee and provisional votes yet to be reconciled. This compares to 5.6 million voters in 2016, 5.63 million in 2012, 5.77 million in 2008 and 5.72 million in 2004.
"Voters were pleasant, happy and respectful," said Lisa Welch, OAEO's first vice president. "Once again, Ohio election officials rose to a daunting task and our voters responded. Yesterday can only be deemed an unqualified success."
"We just threw a big party for nearly six million people that lasted for 28 days," said Brian Sleeth, second vice president of OAEO. "While exhausted, local election officials could not be more thrilled with how this election was administered. None of the doomsday predictions came true, and Ohioans can be confident that their will was reflected in the results."
The election continues as absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 and received by boards of elections by Nov. 13 will be verified and counted. Provisional ballots will also be reconciled and valid provisionals will be included in the official vote totals, which are expected to be released on Nov. 18.
The OAEO is a bipartisan organization representing Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections and their staff members. Its mission is to promote fair, accurate and reliable elections through the education of its members, advocating for sound election policies and communicating accurate information regarding the administration of elections.