Mostly quiet on the midwestern front.

The usual Republican lie was put forward in Akron. The Akron police warned the public about robocalls telling them the voting lines were too long today and they should wait to vote until Wednesday, according to a See Say 2020 post. The FBI is reportedly investigating the robocalls, according to USA Today.

Also, the perennial election official problem of simply not having the proper paper backup ballots happened when voting machines stopped working in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, someone posted on See Say 2020.

My wife and I found it a little more difficult than expected to vote on paper in Columbus’ 55 Ward precinct. First, paper wasn’t offered as an option, and when we asked for a paper ballot, their initial impulse was to give us a provisional ballot. One of the poll judges thought we were breaking the rules until another one interceded and explained that we were allowed to fill out a paper ballot and feed it into the digital scanner. Also, the pollworker writing down our names managed to spell both of them wrong.

There wasn’t a lot of room at the site to fill out the paper ballots, I used a snack table. But if the electricity goes down, as it did today in Columbus’ North Linden area, voters should always be able to vote on paper. That’s why pollworker training on this option is crucial and all sites must have paper ballots.

Speaking of pollworker training, another See Say post reported that an older black voter in Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinnati) was told he needed a photo ID or he couldn’t vote at all. His daughter made the pollworkers look up the rules and they told him of the other options, of which there are 17 or so, including utility bills.

Ohio Democrats are somewhat concerned about low voter turnout in the minority precincts in Cleveland and Columbus. They consider they are dependent on a high voter turnout if Biden is to beat Trump in the Buckeye State. An eastside precinct in Columbus, Livingston Elementary, was only reporting 30% voter turnout after the morning rush.

Most voting times in Franklin County, as reported by voters today, seem to be between 10-20 minutes. Absentee ballots are still being dropped off at the Franklin County Board of Elections, accepted up until 7:30pm tonight. Ohio Secretary State Frank LaRose stated at a press conference that even if the results are not confirmed tonight, he will continue make sure every vote is counted.

As we go to press at 6:45pm, the Democrats are still fighting. I received a robocall from Stacey Abrams telling me I hadn’t voted and encouraging me to get out and vote.

(6:45pm)