COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's elections chief says 1.6 million residents are using the early voting options in the presidential battleground, and more than 800,000 people already cast ballots with two weeks to go until Election Day.
Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) said Tuesday that more than 1.4 million voters have requested absentee ballots, and nearly 619,000 have mailed those ballots. More than 189,000 people have voted early in person.
Those numbers are based on an informal survey of Ohio's 88 county boards of election as of last Friday.
Ohio is among 34 states, plus the District of Columbia, where people can vote early without giving a reason.
About 30 percent of the swing state's total vote, or roughly 1.7 million ballots, came in before Election Day in 2008.
