WARREN — Eyes were focused mainly on the U.S. Senate race for voters passing through the Trumbull County Board of Elections on Wednesday, which was the first day of early voting in Ohio.
Charlene W. Allen, 72, of Warren, has voted in every election since she was 18. Allen said she was concerned about the Senate race and wanted to “protect our democracy” following the Jan. 6, 2021,Capitol riot.
Allen said she values voting because she remembers a time when African Americans were denied the right to do so.
Eric Hetson, 56, of Hubbard, showed up to the polls early to make sure he and his wife were able to cast their ballots.
Hetson is a conservative who said he wants to elect candidates with his viewpoint because he doesn’t like the country’s direction in what he defined as being out-of-control government spending and rising inflation.
“I’m scared for the future. I want to make sure my vote counts to get people in office that believe in policies along my beliefs,” he said.
A 72-year-old Niles woman who asked not to be named said she is heading to Florida but wanted to make sure she was able to cast her vote. Her concern, she said, is the Senate race, without wanting to state the candidate she supports.
Gary Hansel, 75 of Newton Falls, came to vote with concerns about the rising costs of groceries, gas, cost of living and border security driving his decisions in the voting booth.
“The country is going down the tubes. We need a new administration,” Hansel said.
Married for five years, Neil and Kayla Simpson agreed that the Senate race is the biggest thing on the ballot for them.
Neil Simpson said, “The Senate race is the most important that we deal with in regard to the midterm because the Senate is where we have a lot of problems getting something passed.”
Kayla Simpson has been big on voting since college, but she said what pushed her coming out for the midterms was Roe v. Wade being overturned and seeing how extreme some of the Republican views are. She hopes voting is a step toward getting things back on track.
Joanne Horn, originally from Pittsburgh and now resides in Cortland, said she came to the voting booth to make sure she could change her address but decided to vote anyway.
Horn said she tries to remain as neutral as possible, noting she likes and dislikes a lot of what’s being done on both sides of the political aisle. As a former nurse, Horn said politicians should provide the same care to everyone, just as she did in nursing.
“Back in the day you didn’t think this was important because you thought these elected people were going to do the same job like you did,” Horn said. “It should be for the good of all, according to the free will of all.”
Sonny Morgan, 87, of Warren, said every election is important but he sees this election as a fight against the far right.
“They’re trying to disenfranchise minority votes, make laws because they feel like they’ll be the minority,” Morgan said. “Only thing conservatives care about is the seat, not the guy that is running for it.”
Morgan called himself a longtime supporter of U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan. He said Ryan has brought a lot of tech jobs to the area and Morgan doesn’t understand why the support isn’t behind Ryan the way he feels it should be.
Morgan is a member of A. Philip Randolph Institute, a national African-American trade union organization that advocates for social, labor and economic change. To spread the word to others, he plans to pass out flyers and knock on doors to encourage people to vote.
Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, said the 416 voters that cast ballots was near her expectations. She expects turnout for the election to be about 55 percent.
Tom McCabe, director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, predicts turnout for this election to be about 54 percent in his county.
Early in-person voting continues 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday as well as Oct. 17 to 21 and Oct. 24 to 28. It is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 29, a Saturday.
It is 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.
Early voting on Nov. 5, the Saturday before the Nov. 8 primary, is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 6, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 7.
The Trumbull board is renting space at a vacant building at 2911 Youngstown Warren Road SE, Warren, for its early voting center. It is next door to the board offices.
Polling locations are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8.
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