A new poll released Tuesday by Baldwin Wallace University suggests nearly 59 percent of Ohioans who plan to vote this November say the upcoming midterms are more important than previous ones.
There is some evidence of that sentiment in Northeast Ohio voter rolls. Although the final tally won't be known for a week or so, elections officials in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Lake, Geauga and Portage counties report that, as of Tuesday, the last day to register to vote, voter rolls are slightly higher than they were during the 2014 midterm election.
A deeper look at the registration numbers shows that the increase is relatively modest. Nearly all are within a percent or two of where they were in 2010, the last time Ohio saw a competitive gubernatorial race. And, as of Tuesday, Cuyahoga County's voter rolls stood at just under 900,000—about 8 percent lower than it was in 2010.
Nevertheless, Paul Adams, director of the Lorain County Board of Elections, said he's noticed a slight bump in registration over the past few months.
"Various groups are out pushing voter registration specifically, and it appears to be making a difference," Adams said.
One driving factor, he said, may be the tight gubernatorial contest between Mike DeWine and Richard Cordray.
"Polls show that that race is going to be close," Adams said. "I think that is something that is energizing the base of both political parties to go out and register their voters."
Adams said the number of registered voters is over 212,000 in Lorain County--about 1.6 to 4 percent higher than it was in the two previous midterms.
But, of course, the real test of how voters are feeling will be Election Day itself.
Below are the voter registration numbers by county as reported by elections officials on October 9, 2018*, along with registration numbers from previous midterm Election Days.
Cuyahoga County
2018: 899,886*
2014: 886,098
2010: 978,267
2006: 1,054,670
Summit County
2018: Data not available at publication time.
2014: 358,116
2010: 371,028
2006: 373,447
Lorain County
2018: 212,000+*
2014: 203,718
2010: 208,660
2006: 190,767
Lake County
2018: 157,886*
2014: 153,704
2010: 157,732
2006: 153,736
Medina County
2018: 124,194*
2014: 122,847
2010: 125,684
2006: 122,097
Portage County
2018: 108,839*
2014: 104,943
2010: 110,446
2006: 103,718
Geauga County
2018: 66,439*
2014: 64,248
2010: 65,507
2006: 63,288
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Baldwin Wallace poll was released Monday. It was released Tuesday.
Copyright 2020 90.3 WCPN ideastream. To see more, visit 90.3 WCPN ideastream. 9(MDAxMzY2MjQ0MDEyMzcyMDQ5MzBhZWU5NA001))
