Midterm Elections 2018 Ohio: East Side Turnout Up

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Voter turnout is set to easily outpace previous midterm elections in Cuyahoga County. Part of that increased turnout will come from inner-ring suburbs like Cleveland Heights.

More than 58 percent of Beachwood's eligible voters have turned out to vote on Tuesday, with 2,799 voters casting their ballots on Election Day. Voter turnout was also over 56 percent in Shaker Heights by the afternoon, with 6,972 ballots cast on Tuesday.

In Cleveland Heights, about 16,500 people had cast a ballot by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, representing 48 percent of eligible voters.

Poll workers told Patch they hadn't seen their locations that busy during the day before, and the evening rush is yet to come. Voter turnout could be very high indeed in Cleveland Heights.

During the county's last midterm elections, in 2014, voter turnout was a little below 40 percent. At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, voter turnout was already past 42 percent.

Cuyahoga County Board of Election Director Pat McDonald said: "Based on vote by mail and early voting activity, we are looking at election turnout of about 48 percent to 50 percent."

If that projection holds, the county would easily outdo the 2010 midterm elections, when turnout was at 44 percent. The Board of Elections believes there will be approximately 432,000 votes counted across the county on Tuesday. Only about 350,000 votes were cast in 2014. Already, 384,000 ballots have been cast in 2018.

Voters in Cleveland Heights, a historically Democratic enclave, told Patch they were "horrified" at the direction of the country and would be voting for both Richard Cordray (for governor) and Sherrod Brown (for senator).

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