Vote | Illustrated by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
The 2020 election saw record numbers of voter turnout, the highest in over a century.
Greene County
Greene county had a voter turnout of nearly 85,000 votes. 60% of that went to President Trump.
Representative Mike Turner soundly beat challenger Desiree Tims with 57,031 (66.12%) of the votes cast, compared to Tims’ 29,223 (33.88%).
State Representative Bob Hackett shared similar success against his challenger, Charles Ballard.
Warren County
Warren County had a turnout of 79.4%, 133,111 out of 167,624 registered voters cast their ballot. This is up from 2016 where 78.40%, 119,450 out of 152,350 registered voters, voted. This was an increase of 15,274 more registered voters and 13,661 more votes cast.
Trump took Warren with 85,069 (65.4%) votes to Biden’s 45,040 (34.6%).
Montgomery County
Montgomery saw over 250,000 votes cast by election night. Barely over 50% of these votes went to the President-elect.
Turner narrowly held off Tims in Montgomery, only gaining 55% of the vote. Similarly State representative Naraj Antoni beat Mark Fogel with 53% of the vote.
Ohio
Biden out-performed Hilary Clinton across the state yet still fell short in the end. Biden performed well in counties where a majority of the population holds a college degree, younger citizens and more diverse communities, whereas Trump managed to hold rural communities.
The six largest counties in Ohio favored Biden. Cuyahoga (Cleveland) and Franklin (Columbus) were 65-66% for Biden, Hamilton (Cincinnati) and Lucas (Toledo) held 57%, Summit (Akron) at 54% and Montgomery (Dayton) just over 50% according to the Dayton Daily News.
These counties alone make up over 40% of Ohio’s population.
Of special interest, Ohio had over 56,000 poll workers on Nov. 3 working in all 88 counties, an increase from past years and most being first time workers.
Is Ohio a swing state?
Senior political science major Leah Samantha Baxter and senior international studies major Ivan Mallett both attest that Ohio is a solid red state.
All Ohio House districts have remained the same for the last 16 years, 13 Republican held and 3 Democratic. Ohio has consistently elected a Republican governor since 1990, excluding one single term Democrat in 2006.
2020 marks the first time in decades that Ohio has not contributed to the winning presidential ticket, signaling the end of its importance as a key swing state for future elections.
Early voting
There were more early votes cast this election than ever before.
Jacob O’Connor, a junior communication studies major, says he voted early to come in contact with less people because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I also needed to go back home to vote so early voting was an assurance that I would be able to do my civic duty,” said O’Connor.
Masters student Emily Bundeson said that she waited to vote on Nov. 3 because she likes “the excitement of [voting day],”
She mentioned that there was no line when she went and was able to walk straight in.
