Darrel Rowland

drowland@dispatch.com

Three out of every four registered Ohio voters have not even asked for a primary election ballot yet in this weird coronavirus year, according to new figures released Tuesday by the secretary of state’s office.

About 1.67 million Ohioans had asked for an absentee ballot as of the end of last week out of 7.77 million who are registered. That’s about 22% for an almost-exclusively mail-ballot vote that concludes in less than a week.

About 44% of Ohio voters cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential primary. The low among recent Ohio presidential primaries is just shy of 26% in 2012.

At this point, it’s an open question on how many voters will be able to take part in the delayed Ohio primary with less than a week remaining before the deadline. It’s a multi-day process to send in an application for an absentee ballot, wait for the ballot to come back in the mail, and then mail the completed ballot back with a postmark no later than Monday.

The completed ballots also can be dropped off at county elections boards next Tuesday, where limited in-person voting will be allowed for the homeless and disabled.

The biggest uncertainty may revolve around voter interest in an unprecedented election during a pandemic, using a voting method many Ohioans have never tried before, at a time when the presidential primaries are already determined.

“This election is about a lot more than a presidential primary. It’s about the levies and local issues that are being decided in communities all around Ohio, and leaders who are competing to be your councilwoman or legislative representative,” said Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

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Statewide, about 866,000 Democrats have requested absentee ballots, compared to 705,000 who want a GOP ballot. About 93,000 have sought an issues-only ballot.

“Comparing this cycle to what happened in 2016 is tough because we’ve had to administer them quite differently,” said Aaron Sellers, spokesman for the Franklin County elections board.

“The Covid-19 pandemic caused the postponement of the March 17th election hours before the election was to occur and will conclude with an all-mail in ballot next Tuesday. This is unprecedented.“

As they did before the originally scheduled March 17 primary this year, Democrats continue to dominate the early voting turnout as previously unaffiliated Franklin County residents choose a party in a presidential election year. While Republicans have gained about 40% more voters, Democrats have more than doubled, increasing about 102%.

What that translates to in a county already dominated by Democrats: 9,400 GOP voters added in the pre-primary period, but more than 58,000 additional Democrats.

Some number-crunchers had speculated the greater increase in Democratic voters stemmed from a contested presidential primary, while Trump is unopposed. However, the disparity has remained as the Democratic field has settled behind former Vice President Joe Biden

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland