Anyone have some thoughts on what to make of this?
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A weeklong period in which Ohioans could register to vote and immediately cast a ballot ended Monday with turnout that didn't quite match the expectations of election officials — or the campaign predictions that preceded it.
Early returns showed about 3,000 voters in Ohio's four largest counties took advantage of the disputed policy, a surprisingly low turnout to some elections officials.
The window was expected to benefit Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama, as his campaign and advocacy groups pushed Democratic-leaning groups such as college students and low-income voters to the polls.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OHIO_EARLY_VOTING?SITE=JRC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
A bit surprising to me. Must say a bit unnerving too.
Doesn't sound at all like the numbers I've heard about most swing states? I wonder what Ohio overall state numbers are?
October 7, 2008 5:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think this needs to be clarified:
These are not just early registrations. These are not just absentee voters. These are just not early votes. These are early votes on the spot from people who had not previously registered. I wager most Obama enthusiasts, at least, have registered a long time ago.
The total increase in registrations in OH this year is 485,000, and Cuyahoga county (Cleveland) leads by far counting by area.
This immediate voting number is therefore not really very worrisome. There are some troubling voter purge issues going on, but overall the situation is by no means grim.
http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2008/10/ohio_voter_registration_surges.html
October 7, 2008 6:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Roo. Any pointer to info on the voter purge issues you mention.
October 7, 2008 8:56 AM | Reply | Permalink