Previously, the Buckeye State had never surpassed the 2 million vote marker.
In an election cycle that continues to elicit record voter turnout across the nation, has made equal impact in Ohio where the state smashed its early voting record with an unprecedented 3.4 million ballots (as of last night) cast in the early voting period.
As early voting closed, with 243,023 outstanding absentee ballots, the votes totaled to 180 percent of the state’s previous early voting record – equating to 60 percent of the total number of votes cast in the 2016 general election.
“Ohioans have refused to listen to the fear mongers who have spent months trying to convince them that it’s hard to vote – they’re proving it’s easy with every record broken,” said Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose. “As ballots mailed on time continue to come in over the next ten days, Ohioans should rest assured that each legally cast ballot will be counted and their voice will be heard.”
Accordingly, LaRose predicts that over 6 million of Ohio’s voters would cast their allot today out of 8.1 million eligible voters. Ohio’s highest voter turnout was back in 1992, when 77.1% voted in the election between Democrat Bill Clinton against the incumbent Republican President, George H.W. Bush and independent candidate, Ross Perot.
Polls close in Ohio at 7:30 pm. Experts are still unsure as to when the official winner will be known.