Polls opened across Ohio and the Greater Akron area this morning at 6:30 — Signal Akron reporters will be out and about across the city to document the election process. We’ll be talking to voters and poll workers about their experiences as ballots are cast and the exercise of democracy is in full swing.
We have complete coverage and election results — you can also find complete results at the Summit County Board of Elections after polls close at 7:30 p.m. and on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.
Need some last minute information about candidates or issues on the ballot? Our Election Signals 2024 page has a round up of all of our coverage leading up to today.
A first-time voter takes his time
9:12 p.m. | Arielle Kass
At Firestone Park Community Center, poll workers whooped and cheered each time a new voter was announced.
Jarriel Hitchcock, 21, was one of the new voters who got the celebrity treatment. He said he didn’t think people cared so much about whether others voted.
“I was like, ‘Whoa,’” he said Tuesday evening. “It made me feel really good inside. They really care.”
Hitchcock took his time filling in his ballot, he said, to make sure he was doing everything correctly. His mom sent him plenty of articles on the issues, he said, and drilled into him that voting really does matter.
Hitchcock said he wanted to vote in the presidential race because he cares about women’s rights. He also voted in favor of Issue 27, the Akron Public Schools levies, because he thought the district should build a new North High School.
“It’s our future that we’re voting for,” he said. “I’m really excited.”
Long lines for a worthy cause
9 p.m. | Arielle Kass
There were long lines outside Firestone Park Community Center before the doors even opened at the polling location Tuesday morning, said voting location manager Adrienne Nelson. There were lines again around 6 p.m., but those waiting said they were moving quickly.
Nelson, who has been a poll worker since 2012, said she helped five or six people with curbside voting, including a 96-year-old woman.
“It’s busy,” she said. “We have been busy.”
Voting matters, she said, because people have sacrificed their lives to ensure that Americans can cast their ballots. Nelson, 64, said she goes the “extra length” to make sure people can participate.
A split ticket
8:40 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Wearing a Jesus 2024 Hope for America T-shirt in line outside the Firestone Park Community Center Tuesday evening, Andrew Bebesi said he would be voting for one party for president, and another in the U.S. House and Senate races.
His presidential pick was “pretty clear,” the 26-year-old said. As for the other races, he looked at the track records and the history of those candidates. Bebesi said he generally tries to look up candidates without checking their party, the better to make decisions on the issues.
This year, he said, he was concerned about how expensive things have gotten and the wars happening around the world.
Bebesi said was making his decision based on “who has more experience, the things they’re standing for.”
Bebesi doesn’t want the U.S. to be “the world’s babysitter,” he said, but wants the country to be strong enough that “people don’t mess with us.”
Bebesi also voted for the Akron Public Schools’ levies, Issue 27, saying a new North High School is something that should have been done long ago. He was opposed to Issue 1, involving gerrymandering, because he was concerned about who would be making the redistricting decisions.
Make the choice that makes you most comfortable
8:20 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Three years ago, Hannah Browning moved from West Virginia to Ohio. On Tuesday, she voted for the first time in her new state.
Women’s rights, transgender rights and reproductive freedom were the issues most important to her while casting her ballot Tuesday at Kenmore Library.
“They’re real things that should not be on the ballot, but I guess they are,” the 32-year-old social services worker said.
A self-described “bleeding heart liberal,” Browning said she had a “super positive” voting experience, waiting in a short line at the library. It was worth it, she said, to have “the right people holding up the right laws.”
“I hope everybody gets out there and makes the choice that makes them most comfortable,” she said.
A first-time voter at 53
8:15 p.m. | Arielle Kass
At 53 years old, D’ann Osborne cast her first ballot.
She thought about voting eight years ago, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were vying for the presidency. But it was “too much hoopla,” she said. She doesn’t love people, or being in public places.
But it was the chance to vote for Kamala Harris — and against Trump — that finally brought her to the ballot box to cast a ballot late Tuesday afternoon at the Kenmore Branch Library.
“I didn’t want to see Trump,” she said. “I want to say, ‘I didn’t vote for him.’”
Now that she’s cast her first ballot, Osborne said she’ll vote again.
“I’m excited, I’m happy,” she said. “This was my first time.”
The process of voting was painless, she said. In addition to her vote for president, Osborne said Issue 1, gerrymandering, was a key concern.
Needing to hear more about judge races
8 p.m. | Arielle Kass
For Keith Vandever, immigration was the biggest reason to vote in the presidential race. Vandever said he’s “pretty much” a straight-ticket Republican voter, but there were a lot of judges that he didn’t hear much about and therefore did not vote in those races.
“I kinda quit two-thirds of the way down,” he said.
Vandever also said he voted against Issue 1, regarding gerrymandering, because the explanation was too long.
“If you can’t explain it to me in 30 seconds, I’m going to vote no for it,” he said.
Vandever also voted no for Issue 27, which would pay for a new North High School and fund some operating costs for Akron Public Schools. The 47-year-old said he is on a strict budget and was looking out for his bottom line.
Vandever, who works as a manager at a recycling center, said he thinks it’s important to participate in voting. It’s a shame, he said, that more Americans don’t.
“Everyone should have a voice, and everyone should express it,” he said late Tuesday afternoon at the Kenmore Branch Library.
Helping voters in a ‘big deal’ year
7:40 p.m. | Arielle Kass
At the Kenmore Branch Library Tuesday evening, Xenophen Madderom instructed people on how to feed their completed ballots into the machine that would scan and tally them.
The stay-at-home mother has three relatives who have been poll workers before, but Tuesday was her first time working the polls. She said she wanted to help facilitate voters coming out to cast their ballots.
“This year it’s a big deal, it’s a really big deal,” she said.
Madderom said she voted at Innes Community Learning Center on her break and was glad to have participated. It was nice as a poll worker, she said, to see people coming together as a nation to make their choices.
‘We need some change’
7:30 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Matthew and Erica Brucker said inflation has been tough on them, and the economy has been one of their biggest issues as voters.
When making their political choices, 30-year-old Erica said, they tend not to focus on social issues. Outside the Kenmore Branch Library late Tuesday afternoon, 26-year-old Matthew said division in the country is a problem — and something the couple hopes improves.
“We need some change,” Erica said.
In search of a compelling option
7:20 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Maretta Hamilton is struggling with gas prices and mortgage rates, but the 51-year-old Akron General Hospital employee stood in line at the Kenmore Branch Library late Tuesday afternoon unsure how she was going to cast her ballot.
“I just felt that I couldn’t decide,” she said.
Still, she wanted her voice to be heard. She wanted “to be the change if there is a change,” but said neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris were compelling options.
“They both are making promises I don’t think they can give us,” she said.
She never thought she’d embrace voting, or politics
6:05 p.m. | Troy Pierson
In West Akron, voting location manager Tianna Milbry said more than 300 voters cast ballots by 11 a.m. at the Maple Valley Branch Library.
At 6:15 a.m. — 15 minutes before polls opened — the line approached the parking lot.
“Part of me just enjoys the whole process,” Milbry said. “I never thought I would be into this voting process or politics, but it’s really interesting.”
When she first learned the voting process as a poll worker, she was amazed to discover how organized the bipartisan system operated. She’s helped manage elections locally since 2016, and trains election workers at the Summit County Board of Elections.
He voted for his family’s future
5:20 p.m. | Troy Pierson
Jimmie Coleman leaned on a table outside the polling room of the Maple Valley Branch Library as he waited for his wife to finish voting. The couple lives two blocks away, and they took advantage of the beautiful weather with a walk to the polls.
“Can’t beat no weather like this,” Coleman said with a chuckle. The 81-year-old retiree worked 36 years at a steel mill in Canton.
While he opted for early voting this year, Coleman said it was freeing to walk to the library with his wife without feeling intimidated or threatened. “Because of the environment being created over the last months, I had thought in the back of my head that someone would say something,” Coleman said.
When he cast his ballot this fall, he thought about how his vote would affect his granddaughters’ and great-granddaughters’ future.
Said Coleman, “I’m speaking on their behalf.”
Parents want to instill importance of voting in children
4:45 p.m. | Troy Pierson
Courtney and Mindy Ingram thought it was important to bring their kids, Zack and Zoe, to the polls at Buchtel Community Learning Center this morning to witness history in the making.
“We want to make sure that our kids are able to see why it’s important to go vote,” Courtney said.
“I know why it’s important,” interjected Zack, which caused the family to laugh. The seventh grader at Litchfield CLC said he would rather lay on the couch for his day off from school.
This was also the Ingram family’s first return to vote in person for a presidential election. In 2020, Courtney and Mindy opted to vote absentee because of health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We wanted to be here in person to kind of feel the excitement and the rush,” Mindy said.
Grandfather gifts grandson his first voting experience
4 p.m. | Troy Pierson
West Akron resident Shannon Blower was excited to bring his grandson, Isaac, to vote at Resnik CLC before afternoon basketball practice.
Tuesday’s election experience marked Isaac’s first. To his grandfather’s surprise, poll workers let Isaac accompany him as he cast his ballot.
“It was an interesting experience,” said Isaac, an eighth-grade student wearing shorts and a Star Wars shirt. “I look forward to being able to vote when I’m older.”
One of Blower’s motivations to vote was to help the Akron Public Schools levy pass. While most of his family resides in Medina, he still wanted to support the public school system.
“Good schools make good neighborhoods,” he said. “A good education program makes everybody safer.”
Despite a few hiccups, voting is running smoothly
4:20 p.m. | Doug Brown
After casting his vote at the Odom Boulevard Branch Library at 6:30 a.m., Freedom BLOC Executive Director Ray Greene Jr. is spending the rest of the day going around town to make sure election workers are fed and hydrated. He is also keeping tabs on any issues that could depress turnout.
At around 1 p.m., Greene popped into Arlington Church of God in East Akron to see how things were running. It was his 10th stop of the day so far and, for the most part, he hasn’t seen many significant issues.
“Everything’s been running pretty smooth,” Green said. “There was an incident where they wouldn’t let workers outside use the bathroom at House of the Lord, but I think we got that straightened out. There were a couple issues with signage. There was an incident this morning where the machine broke down, but I think they’ve got that fixed. Other than that, things are running pretty smooth.”
Green was present when the vote tabulating machine broke down at the Odom Boulevard Branch Library. He told Signal Akron that voters instead deposited their ballots in a “lock box” to be counted later.
Signal Akron spoke with Summit County Board of Elections Chair Bill Rich when he stopped at the library branch around 2 p.m. He confirmed there was a problem with the scanner, but it had been resolved well before he arrived. The people who tried to vote there while the tabulator wasn’t working deposited ballots in an orange bag that seals and locks, Rich said, and a bipartisan team will scan them all by the end of the day.
‘It’s our duty as a citizen to vote’
4 p.m. | Doug Brown
Nicholas Manns, 45, doesn’t belong to a political party — and his ballot on Tuesday reflects that.
“I voted for both Republicans and Democrats,” the father of two said shortly after voting at the Odom Boulevard Branch Library this afternoon. “I vote for change, and if I feel that somebody is holding a seat for too long and I haven’t seen things change, then they’ve got to go regardless of what their political representation is.”
Taxes, transparency about how tax money is spent and government accountability are his priorities when casting a ballot.
“It’s our duty as a citizen to vote,” he said. “I want to set an example for kids, my kids, and everybody and show that, hopefully, voting makes a real difference.”
First-time voter ‘excited’ to cast a ballot
3:30 p.m. | Doug Brown
Nazirah Davis, 20, cast her vote around 1 p.m. inside the gymnasium at Arlington Church of God in East Akron.
“This was my first time voting, and it’s really exciting,” Davis said.
Davis eschews traditional media in favor of keeping informed through social media such as TikTok. She said all the get-out-the-vote messages on the application encouraged her to make her voice heard.
Davis was excited to vote for a woman presidential candidate – Kamala Harris – and other candidates on the ballot, who have vowed to protect abortion rights.
“That’s probably the number one issue for me,” she said.
Local group offers free rides to polls
1:33 p.m. | Troy Pierson
Three members of Akron’s Beard Gang LLC, a new volunteer group, stood at the ready outside John R. Buchtel CLC as they waited for texts from prospective voters who needed a ride to the polls.
The freshly trimmed, bearded couriers are offering Akron residents free rides throughout the day until the polls close at 7:30 pm. The rideshare program was an idea they thought of Monday night as they brainstormed ways to help their community on Election Day.
Columbus resident Carlus Wells returned to his home city to help his friends with the driving. Between him and his friends, Rob Deck and Louis Harmon, they’ve provided 10 rides so far.
“I thought it was very important that I come back here,” Wells said of his return to drive Akron residents.
Turnout passes 3,000 at Ellet CLC this morning
1:15 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Larry Gibbons said he made sure to exercise his “God-given” right to vote Tuesday, so he could later “bitch at the TV.”
Gibbons and his wife, Annette Cooper, cast their ballots at East Community Learning Center. By the time they did, around 11 a.m., 3,214 other people had joined them in voting at that location.
Both said they had concerns about ballot security, with Cooper, 65, saying she chose to vote on Election Day because she doesn’t trust early voting.
“We’re worried if it’s going to be done right or legally,” she said.
Gibbons, 57, said he worried about how many votes would come in overnight. Still, he said, he trusts the system.
Transgender women participating in school sports was a major issue for the couple. Gibbons said they pulled their granddaughter out of school sports because of it.
Still, he said, he votes not based on someone’s party but on what they do for the country. To that end, Gibbons said while he mostly voted for Republicans, he chose to cast his ballot for some Democratic judges with whom he’s had personal experience.
“They didn’t waste any time,” he said. “They put my butt in jail when I needed to be in jail. [I voted for one] just because I’ve seen her uphold the law.”
Cooper, a bus driver, said she had made the same choice. She also voted against Issue 1, which would change the way voting district lines in Ohio are drawn, because “I don’t want people making decisions for me,” she said.
‘I want to see a woman, not just a Black woman, a woman lead the country’
1:04 p.m. | Troy Pierson
Outside the John R. Buchtel CLC’s voting location, 64-year-old Quindera Lightfoot sits near the sidewalk as she passes out promotional flyers for the Summit County Democratic party.
The 1978 Buchtel graduate has been a lifelong Democrat — this morning, she was excited to cast her presidential ballot for Kamala Harris.
“My adrenaline is pumped,” Lightfoot said as she watched the passing cars from her lawn chair. “I want to see a woman, not just a Black woman, a woman lead the country.”
She fears a Trump win would bring repercussions like the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021.
“I feel like he’s trying to push us backwards, not forward,” Lightfoot said.
‘For the greater good, I voted for the Democrat’
1 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Timisha and Derrick Williams didn’t agree about why they voted for Kamala Harris to be president, but they both voted for her to be the country’s next leader.
Timisha said she thought the country could be “moving in the right direction” with the possibility of having a woman as president. Women are normally the invisible people behind the scenes, she said, and it’s high time they get some credit.
She hopes that Harris will help lower inflation and reduce the cost of food. Filling in the bubble next to her name felt good, the 37-year-old former nurse said.
Derrick, her husband, wasn’t as sure.
“I voted [for] Harris, but I really didn’t want to vote,” he said. “We have two horrible people running for president. For the greater good, I voted for the Democrat.”
The 48-year-old former brick mason said he had concerns that when his son was in prison, he had trouble getting an inhaler, but money is being spent on transgender care. Still, he said his family needs benefits that Donald Trump would try to take away if he were to be elected.
“It was like 50-50 for me,” he said after voting Tuesday morning at East Community Learning Center.
‘I want to see somebody there who will bring those prices down’
12:50 p.m. | Arielle Kass
Outside of East Community Learning Center Tuesday morning, Chris Flight said the border and the economy were helping him make his ballot choices this year.
“Everything’s way too high right now,” said the 57-year-old, who is on disability. “My wife and I are struggling. I want to see somebody there who will bring those prices down.”
Flight said he voted for Republicans Kevin Coughlin for Congress and Bernie Moreno for Senate. He wants conservatives in office who will work with the president, he said — no matter who the president is.
Flight, who said he thinks the nation is declining, said he also voted in favor of Issue 1 because he wants those decisions put in the hands of the people, not politicians.
“I think there’s a whole lot more at stake here than other elections before,” he said.
Family of four votes together
12:45 p.m. | Arielle Kass
The Townsend family voted together Tuesday morning — 47-year-old parents Henry and Megan, 21-year-old Jahmai and 19-year-old Adanija. They brought 10-year-old Zeriah, too, and Jahmai’s young son, Ro’Mare Davis.
“It’s pretty important to me,” Henry said, calling the fact that the group was able to cast ballots together at Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday “pretty significant.”
“There’s a lot of people we encounter who still don’t believe our vote counts, and we believe that it does,” he said.
Megan said they brought the younger children with them to teach them the importance of voting — particularly Zeriah, she said, because “women didn’t always have the right to vote.”
Jahmai, a political science student and a server, said Issue 1 was important for her, regarding gerrymandering. She also said she was voting to protect her rights.
Her sister, Adanija, who is also working as a server, said her high school teachers instilled in her the importance of participating in democracy.
“I feel a part of something that’s important and significant,” she said. “It’s affecting me directly as a young woman.”
‘We have so much at stake right now’
12:30 p.m. | Arielle Kass
The economy, the border and the safety of the country were key factors in Jayne Phillips’ decision to vote for Donald Trump as president for the third time.
She worried about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, colluding with Russia. She’s concerned about a third world war breaking out. And she said the fact that people are trying to put Trump in jail is “really crazy.”
“You never look good if you’re trying to make someone else look bad,” she said.
Phillips, 57, said she knows that Trump can come across as very crass. But she questioned Kamala Harris’ stand on issues, saying she’s been vague and doesn’t ring true. Trump, on the other hand, is running “because he loves this country,” she said.
“Trump just puts it all out there, he’s been transparent,” she said. “His heart shines through. He’s just a regular kind of guy, like us.”
The behavioral technician said she thinks everyone takes him “a little too seriously.”
“We have so much at stake right now,” she said outside Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday morning.
County, state races important for one voter
12:30 p.m. | Arielle Kass
“It’s probably one of the most important elections we have,” said Jon Lindhome, 29. “The stakes keep getting higher each time.”
This time, women’s rights were a major issue for the remodeler. But he said local issues have also been a priority.
“Voting for senators, county officials, that’s what affects your day-to-day life,” Lindhome said outside Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday morning.
Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s attacks on trans people “soured” him on Moreno, Lindhome said. Issue 1, regarding gerrymandering, was a big deal. And Lindhome was engaged in the Summit County Sheriff’s race, where he said he chose Kandy Fatheree, the Democratic incumbent, in the hopes that she would help reform the department.
“I wish we had more choices on some things, but you can only do what you’re given,” he said.
‘It’s the only way things can change’
12:25 p.m. | Doug Brown
Doretha Heard, 71, cast her ballot inside the David Hill Community Learning Center gymnasium in East Akron and then took a seat at a blue picnic table, taking in the good weather near the elementary school’s playground.
“I vote every time – it’s important,” Heard said. “It’s the only way things can change.”
Heard is a Democrat and was proud to vote for Kamala Harris for president.
First-time poll worker said job ‘seemed like fun’
12:20 p.m. | Doug Brown
Erica Lauderdale is working at a polling place for the first time.
“One, I needed a job,” she said about why she’s here, “and two, because they needed the help. I wanted to do it, and it seemed like fun.”
Lauderdale arrived at David Hill Community Learning center in East Akron at 5:30 a.m. and will stay until the polls close. The first-time poll worker is tasked with helping people submit their completed ballots, but when Signal Akron visited around 11:15 a.m., there wasn’t much work to be done as only four of the 17 booths were occupied with voters.
“We were busier, like, an hour ago for a while,” she said. “It’s been on and off. It keeps fluctuating.”
In East Akron, higher turnout than May election
Noon | Doug Brown
Jim Weyrick, 73, is wearing a short sleeve button-down shirt with pens stuffed in the pocket and an American flag tie inside the David Hill Community Learning Center in East Akron. The voting location manager is taping several long strands of receipt-like paper on the gym wall at the school he said his mother attended in the 1930s.
“We have to run two reports during the day, and this is the 11 o’clock report,” said Weyrick, who has been working at the polls on election days since November 2020. “It’s the list of the voters that have voted – we have 209 so far.”
There were more election workers than voters when Signal Akron arrived, but the 11 a.m. report lists nearly twice as many voters compared to the last election in May, he said.
Bodily autonomy, woman’s ‘right to choose’ are voting motivators
Noon | Arielle Kass
Richard Hawkins is fairly left-leaning, and the 33-year-old night shift manager at a gas station said the fall of Roe v. Wade was one of the primary issues that made him want to vote in this year’s presidential election.
Bodily autonomy and a woman’s right to choose are important, he said outside Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday morning.
“I know where I stand on that,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said who to vote for for president was an easy call for him. So was his vote for Sherrod Brown in his Senate re-election race and for Issue 1, regarding gerrymandering.
And he was cautiously anticipating Kamala Harris’ election as the first female president.
“I don’t know,” Hawkins said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Akron schools’ levy, CSB renewal levy reasons to vote
Noon | Arielle Kass
The plight of children and the fate of Akron’s education system were among the factors that drove 71-year-old Nina Baker-Kelly to vote at Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday morning.
Baker-Kelly said she felt strongly about the need for a new North High School and she wanted the renewal of the Summit County children’s services levy to pass. In the presidential race, women’s rights drove her vote. She said the issue helped her make up her mind before conceding it had already been made up.
“I vote in every election; I feel it’s the role of being a good citizen,” Baker-Kelly said. “Presidential elections are more important.”
Ellet voter wants something ‘totally different’
Noon | Arielle Kass
Angelo Jackson voted at Ellet Community Learning Center Tuesday morning because he thought it would be selfish not to. After all, he said, a lot of people who came before him weren’t allowed to cast their votes at all.
Jackson, 34, said he wants to see a “whole new country.”
“We need something totally different,” he said. “If you’re a leader, you have to get to everyone and not just a select few. I can say my ultimate decision was based on integrity, character and what you stood for.”
Jackson owns a media company, LeaRoc Films, He said he did as much research as he could on the issues, then chose “pretty much one party.”
‘Paperwork’ is challenging with long Akron ballot
11:15 a.m. | Gary Estwick
Tuesday marked Ran Basnet’s first time voting in America.
He did so at his Akron voting precinct at the Forest Hill Community Learning Center.
Basnet, 33, who was born in Bhutan, a country in South Asia located between India and China, said the voting process was challenging; not because of hurdles, but “filling out the paperwork.”
Akron voters faced a two-page, front-and-back ballot full of national, state and local issues.
‘The only thing that’s going to change anything is just to get out and vote.’
10:45 a.m. | Gary Estwick
Keith Toomer, a 58-year-old Akron resident, has voted in elections for decades. And not just presidential elections.
“I look at it like this,” Toomer said from the voting location at City of Joy on West Exchange Street. “If you don’t use your right to vote, you really can’t complain about what’s going on out here.
“The only thing that’s going to change anything is just to get out and vote.”
Toomer has a special interest in local ballot issues, including Issue 1, which will change the way voting districts in Ohio are drawn, if it passes.
Keith Toomer, 58, of #Akron explains why he votes. #Election2024 pic.twitter.com/9zCiXJeiQD
— Gary Estwick 🗞 (@garyestwick) November 5, 2024
APS advocate spreading the word on Issue 27
10:10 a.m. | Susan Zake
Desiree Bolden, who runs the Akron After School program for Akron Public Schools, was sitting in the parking lot at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on West Market Street hoping to talk with voters about Issue 27, the bond issue and operating levy for APS on the ballot.
“We are an awesome school district. We have wonderful teachers,” she said.
Bolden said a woman walking by her sign asked her what this was. “Which was great, because she didn’t know.” It gave Bolden a chance to explain the millage and the bond that are part of the two combined levies.
She hoped sharing information about the levy with voters as they entered would help “sway them in the last minute.”
Voters in line when polls open at North High School
9:47 a.m. | Gary Estwick
When voting started at North High School at 6:30 a.m., poll worker Kerby Calet said 40 to 50 people were waiting in line.
“It was good to see,” he said.
Voting continued at the high school throughout the morning, with four to five voting machines in use simultaneously.
‘Cautiously optimistic’ about APS levies
9:30 a.m. | Arielle Kass
Tricia Kelly took a vacation day Tuesday so she could stand outside Wedgewood United Methodist Church in Ellet holding a sign in support of Issue 27, the Akron Public Schools levies.
Kelly, a content area specialist for the school district’s College and Careers Academies said she was cautiously optimistic that the levies would be approved by voters. She said it was important for her to take time off to support the effort and to be a “friendly, open, smiley face” to answer any questions about the levies.
“No matter how people vote, I’m glad that they’re voting,” she said.
The 50-year-old said she thought it was her obligation to vote, and she did so Tuesday morning at the church. Inclusion for all residents drove her vote in the presidential race, she said.
Kelly’s 18-year-old daughter will vote for the first time this afternoon, and Kelly said she helped her learn how to access accurate information and find her sample ballot to research the candidates.
“She’s excited,” Kelly said.
‘Vote for a better life’
9:25 a.m. | Gary Estwick
Four University of Akron students drove to the polls together Tuesday morning, all participating in their first U.S. presidential election.
They were part of a small rush of Zips to enter the polling place at First United Methodist Church Of Akron. They experienced little to no wait, and all felt the process was worth it.
“I felt it was important to vote to protect the values that I personally feel are important and, you know, vote for a better life,” Allie Chambers said.
@uakron students explain why they voted on #ElectionDay in #Akron. pic.twitter.com/BNRdPeuvXp
— Gary Estwick 🗞 (@garyestwick) November 5, 2024
Audrey Campbell, though, also learned something. Her voting experience was more intense than she thought it would be. In the future, she plans to be more prepared about what’s on the ballot.
“It was just like all of the things,” Campbell said. “Watching all the commercials and stuff, they don’t show everything, like all in one piece.”
Around 40 people voted at the precinct during the first 90 minutes of voting.
Economy, security and foreign affairs top of mind for one voter
9:20 a.m. | Arielle Kass
It’s disappointment with current leadership that drove William Oreolt, 74, to the polls.
“I don’t like the administration, I don’t think they’re doing a good job,” he said after voting Tuesday morning at Wedgewood United Methodist Church in Ellet.
The economy, the country’s security and foreign affairs were the issues that mattered most to him. Oreolt said he wanted America to be “strong enough [so] our enemies won’t push us around.”
“I think this administration is weak,” he said. “If you get another administration, it might be better.”
A vote for bipartisanship in government
9:07 a.m. | Arielle Kass
For the first time in her voting history, Patty Martell chose all candidates from the same party.
“I’m not happy with that,” she said. “I did it for the sake of balance.”
Martell, a 77-year-old Ellet resident, said she thought some candidates needed to be supported because of their values: honesty, truthfulness, integrity. She chose people she thought would work across the aisle in the aftermath of the election.
“I want government not to be one-sided,” she said. “We have some really important issues here.”
Regardless of the outcome, Martell said she was impressed by the turnout at Wedgewood United Methodist Church.
“I’m proud of us,” she said. “Turnout is amazing. That, to me, says America cares.”
In Ellet, thousands vote before 9 a.m.
9:07 a.m. | Arielle Kass
Paul Green, a poll worker at Wedgewood United Methodist Church, said 3,256 people had voted at the location before 9 a.m.
“We had lines throughout this morning,” Green said.
He called the turnout much higher than normal. Green has been a poll worker at the location, where he goes to church, for eight or 10 years, he said.
‘The important work is still ahead’
8:54 a.m. | Arielle Kass
Barbara Hanselman, 73, has been standing outside polling locations offering Democratic sample ballots on “many voting days far worse than this one.”
It was 65 degrees and sunny just after 8 a.m. at the Wedgewood United Methodist Church in the Ellet neighborhood and Hanselman, who lives in West Akron, said there had been a line from the church door to near the street when polls first opened this morning. She’s had plenty of people accept her offer of sample ballots, a lot of polite refusals and only one “no way,” she said.
Hanselman said she’d been standing outside polling locations since the 1980s. She said she sees it as her duty, but thinks it’s especially important this year.
“I feel that we really have some important decisions to make right now,” she said. “I support the Democratic solutions.”
But Hanselman, who voted last week, said the most important decisions will come after the election.
“The important work is going to come after this, when half the country is going to be very upset, very disappointed,” she said. “That’s when the real work starts.”
