Haven't Voted Yet? You're in the Minority

People who go to the polls on Election Day have quickly become the minority in Strongsville.

A report from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections shows that as of Friday, 12,351 Strongsville residents had requested absentee ballots for the Nov. 6 general election, and 9,196 had already returned them.

More are certain to come in this week. 

While turnout at the polls on Tuesday isn't yet known, it's clear a significant percentage of Strongsville voters will cast ballots by mail in this Presidential election.

Typically, 11,000 to 14,000 voters cast ballots in Strongsville. As a comparison, a total of 13,637 people voted on a renewal levy for the Strongsville schools in the March primary election.

Of the 12,351 absentee ballots requested, 4,522 were for registered Republicans, 4,144 were for Democrats, 3,648 for independent voters and 37 for minor parties.

Voting by mail has been increasing in popularity here. In 2011, about 79 percent of voters cast ballots by mail in both an August special election and a May primary.

The trend has changed the way candidates and supporters campaign for races and issues.  

Campaigns have to start weeks earlier than they used to because a last-minute push would only reach about 20 percent of the participating voters.

Absentee ballot applications were mailed to all Cuyahoga County residents for this election after the county and state battled and reached an agreement.

There are 32,142 registered voters in Strongsville, according to the Board of Elections.