Polls busy as voters cast ballots in 2022 midterm election
Polls around Summit and Portage counties were busy Tuesday as voters arrived throughout the day, poll workers said.
Many voters said they cast ballots in every election while others were first-time voters or came out for their first midterm election.
At Buchtel Community Learning Center, 19-year-old Desmond Watkins was voting in his first election.
Watkins, who had just gotten off work at Penn Station in Canton and was still wearing his uniform and apron, had to fill out a provisional ballot because he'd moved and didn’t know he had to update his address on his voter registration.
Watkins said he was frustrated he had to cast a provisional ballot, but was still excited to have voted in his first election.
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Wakins said he voted for Democrats, including Emilia Skyes in the 13th Congressional District race and Tim Ryan for U.S. Senate.
April Newman, 40, and her 9-year-old daughter, Annie, were also voting at the Buchtel location.
“It’s my privilege to vote, and I’m going to vote anytime I have the opportunity,” said April Newman, who has brought her daughter to three elections and discusses issues because the family has seen so many negative ads.
Newman said she voted for Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance and Republican Madison Gesiotto Gilbert in the 13th District race.
“I do vote Republican, but I’m not a strict party voter,” said Newman. “I am a conservative and so I’m going to vote for who most aligns with my Christian values.”
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At the Robert J. Otterman Ellet Community Center in Akron, 27-year-old Mathew Goodin said he normally votes only in presidential elections, but his dad encouraged him to vote in Tuesday’s midterm election.
“I just want to keep the Republicans in, so that’s what I did,” he said. “I don’t like the views of the other party.”
At Woodridge Middle School in Cuyahoga Falls, 72-year-old Paula Murphy voted for Democratic candidates.
“Republicans gotta go,” she said. “It’s my right to vote. I try to vote every time. I would like to see some changes.”
Murphy said she was worried about how the 13th Congressional District race and Senate race were going to go.
“I’d love to see the Democrats do it, but there is such a strong backing for Trump that I can’t understand why. It’s concerning,” she said.
Art Holmes, 81, of Cuyahoga Falls, said he voted a straight Democratic ticket at Woodridge Middle School. The Ohio attorney general race was important to Holmes since “they control the vote.”
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Holmes was predicting wins for Ryan and Sykes in the races for U.S. Senate and House seats and said he would be disappointed if both lost. “I can’t believe there’s that many stupid people, but it is Ohio,” Holmes said.
Carol Steiner, 79, of Silver Lake, was going to vote at Silver Lake Village Hall with her 13-year-old grandson. “I’m disturbed with the turmoil in the country, and I must say that I will be voting in the hopes of quelling some of that turmoil. I don’t like all of the talk about fake elections and I don’t believe that’s happening, so I want to go in and cast my vote and get rid of some of that.”
Steiner said she was listening to talk radio in the morning, where “all they’re saying is if the Republicans don’t win, it’s a fake election and there’s fraud involved, and that worries me a whole lot.”
First-time voters at Kent State
For some Kent State University students, this was their first time casting a ballot.
And it was also a first taste of the bureaucracy and paperwork needed just be able to vote.
Many had registered ahead of time but still needed proof of on-campus residency because their driver's licenses were for their home addresses, sometimes counties and even states away.
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The Ohio Democratic Party had a table set up outside of the polling place to help the students sort out what documentation they would need and print out the proof of on-campus residency needed to vote Tuesday.
Connor Compton, who works with the Ohio Democratic Party, said while he hopes everyone he helped would support his party, the important thing was ensuring the students were able to cast ballots.
"A lot of students didn't realize they needed an extra ID," Compton said.
Kent State student Chloe McIntyre had registered to vote ahead of the deadline but had used her Rocky River address where she grew up.
She needed some help printing out paperwork to prove her on-campus residency.
Tuesday marked her first time voting and having a say in the issues she believes in.
"I don't believe in the notion that a single vote doesn't count," said the 19-year-old biology major.
Like McIntyre, Tuesday marked the first time Sam DeLima was voting.
The fashion major from New Jersey said this election was important because of the number of significant social issues facing the nation like a women's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
"I'm happy to help keep the seats blue (Democratic) this election," she said.
Victoria Collins of Stow, who is studying international relations at Kent State, said it seems like she's waited a lifetime to be old enough to vote.
"This is so important," she said. "This is the first time I get to take part."
Economic concerns motivate some voters
Money and the economy was on the minds of some voters in Hudson.
A steady stream of voters – many carrying Republican sample ballots − made their way to polling booths Tuesday afternoon at the Hudson Library.
They all declined to talk on the record but were not hesitant to offer opinions.
One voter expressed concerns about the moral decline of the country.
Another voter complained about the decrease of his retirement nest egg in the last two years.
Yet another complained about the hostilities of politics and the way people treat one another.
Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Staff reporter Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit, Portage county polls busy as voters cast ballots
