2008 Woodie Awards
Local voter turnout slightly lower than expected
Vince Alexander
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Community
It may have rained most of the day but the weather did not drive Butler County citizens from the polls Tuesday.
Butler County Board of Elections official Nancy Pipes said that they initially predicted a 30 to 40 percent voter turnout. Results, she said, were only slightly lower than expected.
"We had a 37.13 percent voter turnout," Pipes said. "It was a little lower than originally expected, but (that) is not including provisional ballots."
Pipes said that this year, Butler County polls offered voters a choice between electronic touch screen voting systems and scan ballots, which are similar to scantron test forms. She said most people who voted, including workers from the Butler County Board of Election, officials and volunteers, preferred to use the electronic
voting machines.
"The voting process went really well," Pipes said. "We had no problems with voting or counting ballots."
According to Pipes, Sandusky County in northern Ohio experienced problems, keeping polls open until nine o'clock and setting back the reporting time for Ohio's primary election results.
However, Butler County voters faced a different set of problems, namely the rainy weather.
"We do feel that weather was a factor in this election," Pipes said. "We will look at everything and March is really a trial for November."
The weather may also have staggered the voting rush, according to second precinct volunteer and Oxford resident Karen Lader.
"We were fairly slow, which could be weather related," Lader said. "We certainly had rush times, (such as) early in the morning, lunch time and after work."
According to Lader, volunteers received better training this year, with group training sessions available two months prior to the primary election in order to ensure that voting would go smoothly.
Oxford residents agreed that process went well.
"Voting was really easy," said retired Oxford resident Cornelia Broion. "The touch method was very smooth."
Butler County Board of Elections official Nancy Pipes said that they initially predicted a 30 to 40 percent voter turnout. Results, she said, were only slightly lower than expected.
"We had a 37.13 percent voter turnout," Pipes said. "It was a little lower than originally expected, but (that) is not including provisional ballots."
Pipes said that this year, Butler County polls offered voters a choice between electronic touch screen voting systems and scan ballots, which are similar to scantron test forms. She said most people who voted, including workers from the Butler County Board of Election, officials and volunteers, preferred to use the electronic
voting machines.
"The voting process went really well," Pipes said. "We had no problems with voting or counting ballots."
According to Pipes, Sandusky County in northern Ohio experienced problems, keeping polls open until nine o'clock and setting back the reporting time for Ohio's primary election results.
However, Butler County voters faced a different set of problems, namely the rainy weather.
"We do feel that weather was a factor in this election," Pipes said. "We will look at everything and March is really a trial for November."
The weather may also have staggered the voting rush, according to second precinct volunteer and Oxford resident Karen Lader.
"We were fairly slow, which could be weather related," Lader said. "We certainly had rush times, (such as) early in the morning, lunch time and after work."
According to Lader, volunteers received better training this year, with group training sessions available two months prior to the primary election in order to ensure that voting would go smoothly.
Oxford residents agreed that process went well.
"Voting was really easy," said retired Oxford resident Cornelia Broion. "The touch method was very smooth."
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