Light voter turnout seen across Mansfield today as primary election begins

MANSFIELD — Poll workers outnumbered voters at precincts by wide margins on Tuesday morning as light participation kicked off the 2019 primary election day.

Voting was indeed light at all four  four voting sites Richland Source visited this morning — Maddox Memorial COGIC on Walker Lake Road; Mid-Ohio Conference Center on West Fourth Street; St. Peter’s Franciscan Activities Center on West First Street; and Berean Baptist Church on Middle Bellville Road.

Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. As of 9 a.m. four votes had been cast at Maddox Memorial (Precinct 4-A) and one of those was poll worker Barbara Bess, who volunteered to vote so a photographer could take her photo.

About 20 minutes later, officials at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center (4-B, C, E) said they had recorded 16 votes. Just before 10 a.m., poll workers at the Franciscan Center (Precincts 2-A, 6-C) had accepted 26 votes. (The site was later locked down, at least temporarily, due to a shooting incident in the area.)

The busiest site visited was Berean Baptist (Precincts 1-B, E and F), which had seen about 60 voters before 11 a.m.

Richland County Board of Elections Director Paulette Hankins and her staff had predicted 15 percent voter turnout for today’s election.

Donna Long, proudly putting on her “I Love Voting” after participating at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center said she has been voting more than 50 years.

“I consider it my civic duty, my right, my privilege,” she said.

Patricia Beidelschies also voted at Mid-Ohio, saying someone had spoke to her about the Mansfield Safety Forces tax renewal on the ballot and she was there to support it.

Debi Wilcox was one of the voters at the Franciscan Center, saying she has voted since the late 1970s.

After the shooting incident in the area, Franciscan Center was locked down. Hankins said any voter from those precincts can go to the Board of Elections office on Longview Avenue and cast a Provisional ballot during the lockdown. 

“We contacted (the Ohio) Secretary of State for their permission,” she said.  

At Berean, the husband-and-wife team of Ronald and Elaine Ahles cast votes at the same time. Their son, John Ahles, is a sergeant in the Mansfield Police Department and they also supported the Mansfield Safety Forces tax renewal issue.

Polls remain open until 7:30 p.m. tonight

Stay with Richland Source for all of your primary election coverage.