Voter Turnout 'Steady' In Hamilton County Election (OH)
WCPO TV 9. November 3, 2009. Tom McKee
Original: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Voter-Turnout-Steady-In-Hamilton-County-Election/dU1Rlxo_5ku3QIQb5Ga-Ug.cspx

CINCINNATI, Ohio Issues appear to be driving voter turnout going into the final hour of balloting at Hamilton County polling places.

That’s according to Amy Searcy, Deputy Director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

Searcy said she heard the word "steady" most often as she toured precincts Tuesday.

She added that could apply to heavy voting in some communities or light turnout in other municipalities.

"It depends on where you go in the county," she said.

Money issues are motivating people to cast ballots either in-person or in early voting.

"A lot of issues affect peoples’ pocketbooks," Searcy stated. "Those are issues that they care about and they’re going to vote on those."

At the top of the list appears to be Ohio Issue #3, which, if approved, would allow casinos to be constructed in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo.

"I think that is something that everybody cares about and I think the people are passionate on both sides," said Search.

Hamilton County voting appeared to go smoothly, except for one snafu in one Fairfax precinct.

The three candidates for Columbia Township Trustee were mistakenly left off the ballot.

Len Hughes, whose wife is one of the candidates, first heard of the problem early Tuesday as he handed out campaign literature at the Fairfax Recreation Center.

"We had a couple of voters walk out and say they didn’t see that the trustees were on the ballot," Hughes said.

Board of Elections officials were immediately contacted and new ballots were printed and delivered by 10:00 a.m.

The next task was finding people who voted an absentee ballot or voted Tuesday before the problem was discovered.

"We’re discussing what measures to take," said Sally Krisel, Board of Elections Director.

That involves the Ohio Secretary of State, Board of Elections and the Hamilton County Prosecutor.

Krisel says the board’s goal is to have final unofficial results by 11:00 p.m. Tuesday.

That didn’t happen in 2008 because of a computer malfunction. A backup stored off-site had to be brought into finish the count.

This year, there’s a backup at the board offices downtown and another one off-site, just in case.

"We can cover any base that we need to on that front," Krisel stated.