Ohio: Franklin County absentee period opens with rush of first-time voters

[usregimechange]

Early voters camped out over night outside Veterans Memorial.


OSU student David Prephan was the first person to vote in Franklin County this morning.

Franklin County opened 35 days of early voting this morning with a rush of voters marking their first-ever ballots for an American president.

"I've been waiting to vote for a long time," said Jacob Foskuhl, 18, an Ohio State University freshman from Dayton.

He wasn't referring to the all-night campout with friends who are volunteering with him for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. That wait was fun: The 30 students popped up tents outside Veterans Memorial and ordered pizza. They danced in the early morning rain.

Foskuhl, like his friends, was eager to vote in his first general election.

By about 8: 30 a.m., shortly after polls opened, most of the Obama campers were marking their ballots at one of 85 privacy booths inside the auditorium. There was no sign of any organized group from the John McCain campaign.

Michael Stinziano, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, predicts 12,000 people could vote early in person at the auditorium, 300 W. Broad St. Voters park free, and the poll there will be open every day, weekends included, until Election Day.

A record 200,000 Franklin County residents are expected to vote early, most from home, as Stinziano and other county officials urge citizens to avoid long lines on Nov. 4.

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/09/30/copy/earlyvote.html?adsec=politics&sid=101


In case you were unaware, Fraklin County is a major Dem stronghold in OH. Kerry won it by 55% gaining 48,548 votes but expect Obama to do better there as he has always done super well among young educated folks. The county is both young and well educated:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/39/39049.html

[MadMaddie]

1. Niiiiiiiiice! That gave me goosebumps!

I am excited!

[rgbecker]

2. Is early voting available in those Cleveland districts that didn't have enough machines in 2004?

I hope Obama's guys are advertising there if they can vote early. I don't want to see any pictures of lines of people waiting in the rain at 9 at night this year. Seems Unamerican and gets me worked up.

[usregimechange]

3. Isn't it statewide?

[A Brand New World]

9. Yes, it's statewide. I voted today also.

n/t

[usregimechange]

4. Advertising? I would bet they are calling and driving them there

[Connie_Corleone]

8. It's statewide. I'm in Cincinnati and the Democratic Party has radio ads...

running about early voting. There was a special voter registration and early voting drive today. Local black radio stations were driving people to the board of elections to vote.

[RollWithIt]

13. Yes.... it is statewide, seven days a week... until election day....

As far as I know.

[usregimechange]

5. Anyone from Franklin Co?

[riqster]

18. At OSU today, there were signs

...put up by the Obama campaign, directing students to a shuttle bus that would take them to Vet's.

[elkston]

6. Awesome. This is the brewing storm that the polls will miss! (eom)

[VADem11]

7. This is great

They camped out to vote? How awesome is that?

[trueblue2007]

10. Just heard on KO...the Ohio Supreme court upheld this lower court ruling. THE REPUKES LOST!!!!

Just heard on KO...the Ohio Supreme court upheld this lower court ruling. THE REPUKES LOST!!!!


U.S. appeals court OK same-day registration, voting in Ohio


A federal appeals court panel has approved same-day registration and voting in Ohio, rejecting a Republican challenge.

The ruling, by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, came a day after lower state and federal courts also blocked GOP efforts to either stop same-day registration and voting or require those ballots to be segregated and verified.

The Republicans argued that the inability to verify the registration of new voters who cast absentee ballots between today and Oct. 6 will lead to voter fraud.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner had instructed county election officials to segregate the same-day-registration ballots and verify them before counting them on Election Day, Nov. 4.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/09/us-appeals...

[PaDem]

11. Can someone explain to me how these votes..........

are counted? Are they tallied before the returns start coming in on Nov. 4th, or are they only counted if it's reasonably close, after the fact?

[riqster]

17. They're counted on Election Night, afte the polls close.

Only Provisionals are held for later counting.

[RollWithIt]

12. Same sort of scenes in Cleveland today actually....

I don't live there anymore, but my friend said he went to vote this morning and there were Obama people everywhere.

[usregimechange]

16. That rules! Thank you Jennifer Brunner!

[gal]

14. I voted in Ohio today!!

[ShadowLiberal]

15. I've read they had less early voters then expected

I read it in an MSNBC article.

[rgbecker]

19. Than who expected?

[ellie]

20. I am taking

my mother-in-law this weekend to register and vote on the same day here in Ohio. Another vote for Obama!

[Thrill]

21. wow. Repukes have to be shitting bricks right now