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Voter Turnout Appears To Be High In Ohio

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And we're going to move on now to Ohio. Polls don't close there until 7:30, about 20 minutes from now. That's where we find NPR's Tamara Keith, who's at a polling place on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus. And Tamara, what can you tell us about the voting issues in Ohio. It's a closely contested state, of course, and a real electoral prize, 18 votes, 18 electoral votes.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Absolutely. Well, people are definitely voting. Turnout here at this polling location is incredibly high. I've been told by poll workers at other locations that turnout is also quite strong. Of course, we won't really know until the night is over. So people are lined up. Here on campus, they're waiting anywhere from about 30 minutes to about 90 minutes. Other polling places, the lines have been shorter.

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BLOCK: And the people who are on line, Tamara, they've been told if they're on line before the polls close, they do get to cast a vote.

KEITH: That is correct. As long - the last person in line at 7:30, either a poll worker or a sheriff's deputy will stand behind them and say this is the end of the line right when the clock strikes 7:30. So people here are encouraging the students to get in line and telling their vote will count as long as it takes.

BLOCK: Also, a key Senate race in Ohio, the incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown facing Josh Mandel.

KEITH: Indeed. It is a tight race and tons of money, just like Brian said in Virginia. I mean, this is a race where the candidates have spent a lot of money, but the outside groups have just inundated the state with ads on television. It's been tough to be an Ohioan if you like watching television.

BLOCK: Okay. Tam, thanks so much. We'll be checking with you through the night. NPR's Tamara Keith in Columbus, Ohio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Tamara Keith
Tamara Keith has been a White House correspondent for NPR since 2014 and co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast, the top political news podcast in America. In that time, she has chronicled the final years of the Obama administration, covered Hillary Clinton's failed bid for president from start to finish and thrown herself into documenting the Trump administration, from policy made by tweet to the president's COVID diagnosis and the insurrection. In the final year of the Trump administration and the first year of the Biden administration, she focused her reporting on the White House response to the COVID-19 pandemic, breaking news about global vaccine sharing and plans for distribution of vaccines to children under 12.
Melissa Block
As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.