MANSFIELD — An estimated 55 to 60 percent of registered voters are expected to have cast ballots by the time Richland County polls close Tuesday night, according to local Elections Director Matt Finfgeld.
That would mean between 45,000 to 49,000 registered voters would have participated in the November general election cycle.
Polls opened today at 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m. around Ohio.
Finfgeld said about 10,400 voters participated during the early election season, either in person or via absentee ballot. There are 81,889 registered voters in Richland County.
“That puts us at about 13 percent before Election Day,” Finfgeld said Monday afternoon. “It goes up every year as more and more people see how much easier to pick out the day and time they want to go and vote.”
The percentage of local Democrats already participating exceeds Republicans, though the GOP has roughly four times as many party members in Richland County.
Finfgeld said 2,100 local Democrats vote early, about 45 percent of the county’s 4,640 registered party voters. He said 3,800 Republicans voted early, about 23 percent of the GOP’s 16,307 registered members.
There are 60,942 non-partisan voters in Richland County, according to Finfgeld, who said 4,700 voted early, about 7 percent.
Finfgeld said local elections officials are worried some voters may receive text messages from an organization called Vote FTW. The messages tell residents where to vote.
“But they are using our August (special) election polling places, some of which have changed,” he said. “It’s concerning to us that people could get the wrong information.”
Finfgeld said anyone unsure about their polling location should call the Board of Elections at 419-774-5530 or visit the agency’s website at https://www.boe.ohio.gov/richland/.
For comprehensive pre-election coverage from Richland Source, click here.
