Ohio adds 665,949 voters, to nearly 8.2 million

The Dispatch wrote Ohio adds 665,949, to nearly 8.2 million
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
By Mark Niquette
A record number of Ohioans are registered to vote in the Nov. 4 election, for which officials expect record voter turnout because of the hard-fought presidential race. Nearly 8.2 million people are on the voter rolls in Ohio, including 665,949 added this year.
That means 94 percent of eligible voters in Ohio are registered, based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Brunner predicts turnout of 80 percent, which would mean 6.5 million Ohioans casting ballots. By comparison, 5.7 million voted in the 2004 presidential election.
Of the 9,280 people who had cast absentee ballots in person as of Monday, 3 percent were registered Republicans and 39 percent were Democrats, records show. The rest were unaffiliated. Of the 2,097 people who also registered to vote before casting an absentee ballot in Franklin County, two-thirds were younger than 34 and nearly 80 percent were from Columbus.