Ohio State students line up outside the Archie M. Griffin Ballroom in the Ohio Union before polls open at 6:30 a.m. Election Day. Credit: Max Garrison | Assistant Campus Editor
Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. at the Ohio Union, but before the doors opened, about 50 students lined up in the atrium, down a stairwell and toward the door.
The Ohio Union is serving as a polling place for many on-campus and some off-campus Ohio State students. Although there was a line at first, it quickly dissipated once voting commenced and students began to cast their ballots.
Kennedy Fletcher, a first-year in exercise science, arrived at the Union around 6:50 a.m. and finished voting by 7:20 a.m. She said she chose to vote at the Union on Election Day because it was the most convenient option.
She said she hoped to avoid major lines by casting her ballot early in the morning.
“I figured if I get here early, then it would be less of a problem, less hassle,” Fletcher said. “If there are any problems, I have more time to fix them before it’s too late.”
Follow the latest from The Lantern on Election Day here.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office said in a tweet Tuesday morning Franklin County polling places will use paper pollbooks to check in voters rather than the typical electronic check-in system due to the Franklin County Board of Elections not being able upload all the early in-person voting data in time.
According to the tweet, voting machines will not be impacted in any way and the paper pollbooks are kept as a contingency plan to ensure no one votes more than once. A July directive to Ohio Boards of Elections required the paper pollbooks be kept.
The Ohio Union isn’t the polling place for all Ohio State students, however.
Students registered to vote with their university address and live in the Residences on Tenth, German House, Neil Building, Pomerene House, Pennsylvania Place, Scholars East and West houses, Hanley House and Worthington will cast their votes at the King Avenue United Methodist Church near Neil Avenue.
Students registered to vote with their university address and live in Lincoln and Morrill towers will cast their votes at the St. Thomas More Newman Center Church on West Lane Avenue across from Houston House.
Students registered to vote in the off-campus area can find their polling place on the Franklin County Board of Elections website.
Update: This article was updated at 8:24 a.m. with information about Franklin County transitioning to paper pollbooks to check in voters.
