Early voting began at 8am this morning across Ohio. Special polling places have opened in each county where people can vote in person from Sept. 30 through Nov. 3. I.e., election day is today for the next 35 days!
Here are some pictures from the polling place in Franklin County (Columbus), Veterans Memorial:
About twenty-five enthusiastic and intrepid Obama voters actually camped out under the eaves of Vets last night to be first in line this morning:
A view of the riverfront (Scioto River):
Morning scene:
This young man, Jacob, an Ohio State freshman, was slated to be the first to vote, but as it turned out someone else beat him to the punch--err, optical scan:
For registered voters, the early voting procedure starts with filling out a short form, with name, address, birthdate, last 4 of social and signature:
Then you go to a station where a poll worker verifies your registration information in the board of elections database, and prints you out a ballot on laser printer:
For unregistered Franklin County residents, these poll workers will register you on the spot, allowing same-day registration and voting for the next 7 days (through Oct. 6)! The Ohio GOP tried a last ditch effort to block this, but their efforts failed yesterday in court:
Voting booths ("fill in the oval completely"):
My ballot:
The press interviews the first voter (photo by Thunder Road):
Me dropping my ballot in (photo by Thunder Road):