From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Last week, during the first week of early voting, 2,811 people voted at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections early voting center in downtown Cleveland, according to elections officials, or an average of 702 each day. The number dwarfs the equivalent early-in person voting numbers for the primary elections last May (63 people a day) and August (42 people a day), and even exceeds the number for the first week of early voting for the general election last November, when an average of 506 people voted early-in person each day in Cuyahoga County.
Cuyahoga County voters also have requested 51,904 absentee, or vote-by-mail ballots. That exceeds the total number of people who voted by mail for the primary elections in May (29,582) and August 2022 (35,350), although is less than the 133,357 people who voted by mail for the entire November 2022 election.
If last week’s voting patterns hold, Cuyahoga County is on pace to hit 80,000 total vote-by-mail requests and more than 20,000 early-in person votes, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Tony Perlatti said during a board meeting on Monday. That would exceed the 92,042 people who voted for the August 2022 election, both early and on Election Day, in Cuyahoga County for the election last August, but would be less than the 153,275 people who voted overall in the November election.
“If these types of numbers continue, and it clicks up like it typically does... I think we’ll surpass 20,000 and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit 30,000,” said Tony Perlatti, director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Perlatti had been offering a wide range when predicting potential Cuyahoga County turnout, from 10% — a number more similar to the August 2022 election — to 50%, which is more similar to the November election. “I’m going to stop saying 10%,” Perlatti said.
www.cleveland.com/…
Lawmakers know that turnout is low in August. Only 638,708 of the state’s 7,973,819 registered voters (barely 8% of all registered voters) cast ballots in last year’s special Aug. 2 primary. That’s why lawmakers passed a law to prohibit most August elections less than a year ago. They broadcast clearly when they passed that law they did not want elected leaders taking advantage of low-turnout elections to pull one over on voters.
And now that is what they are doing.
But Cuyahoga County can turn that sinister strategy to the advantage of those who want to protect democracy in this state and preserve the power of the voter to rein in power-drunk, out-of-control legislators who used gerrymandering to build supermajorities disproportionate to how the state leans politically.
www.cleveland.com/…
“I think turnout is going to be higher than people expect, but the bottom line is, this isn’t as much of a persuasion election as it is a turnout campaign, and who can get their folks to turn out,” said Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue.
Beyond the abortion issue, there’s another reason to believe turnout could be higher. Last August, there were a number of legislative races where candidates faced no serious primary challengers, making the election irrelevant in many areas. That won’t be the case this time. There will be campaign-style TV advertising promoting the Aug. 8 election, although the anti-Issue 1 side has been first to hit the airwaves.
It’s a cliché in politics, like saying the team that scores the most points wins the game, but the success either side has in mobilizing its voters will help decide who wins in August.