Following typical trends, Athens County has seen an increase in the number of registered voters from 2017 but a decrease since 2016.
As of Friday afternoon, 45,316 people were registered to vote in Athens County. In 2017, there were 45,165 registered voters and 45,418 in 2016. It is not abnormal to see a fall from presidential election years or an increase from local election years.
“I have not noticed an increase of registrations for this election,” Athens County Board of Elections Director Debbie Quivey said.
In Ohio, there were 8,069,215 people registered as of Saturday, according to the Ohio Voter Project, which takes data from the Ohio Secretary of State and breaks it down. A week earlier on Oct. 13, the Ohio Voter Project reported there were more than 56,000 new voters and about 37,000 of those were voters aged 18 to 34.
At Ohio University, the OU College Democrats and OU College Republicans actively work to get people on campus registered to vote. OUCRs works to register people at its meetings. OUCDs tables and is present on campus to get people to register for the first time, update their addresses or ask questions.
“I think those voter registration numbers speak for themselves,” OUCD President Bailey Williams said. “People are very energized to vote, especially when you consider that it’s a midterm year. We typically see about a 20 percent drop in turnout between presidential elections and midterm years. The fact that voter registration levels are comparable to those of 2016 is a very promising sign for high voter turnout. I don’t think we’ll reach 2016 turnout numbers, but we will certainly top 2014 and 2010 turnout numbers.”
Voter turnout for 2016 was about 66 percent. In 2014 and 2010, it was 34 percent and 35 percent respectively.
“Highest voter turnout is typical for presidential elections and then midterm years you see the next highest,” OUCR President Missy Pedulla said. “‘Off’ years are when you see the lowest. The pattern that Athens displays is pretty typical and aligns with most research. I think people are motivated to vote this year because of the current political environment.”
In a previous Post report, Anirudh Ruhil, a professor in Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, said the registration and turnout isn’t necessarily surprising.
“There is no mystery here; Ohio is a swing state that gets a lot of attention during Presidential elections, but in midterm election-years the strength and tone of campaigning depends upon what seats are up for grabs and how closely contested the races are,” Ruhil said in an email.
The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 9, but early voting is still going on. Quivey said early voting has been steady, but she doesn’t think there’s been a spike in it compared to other election years.
