Ohio voter turnout surpasses previous odd-year elections

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Voter turnout in Ohio was nearly 4 percentage points higher than in previous odd-year elections.
There were 3 million votes cast in Tuesday's election, or 39.7 percent of Ohio's 7 million registered voters, according to the final, unofficial count of Tuesday's election. Turnout in 2001 and 2003 elections was 36 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively.
Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for the office of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, said interest in the five statewide ballot issues was the reason for the higher turnout.
The highest turnout by percentage was in Noble County, 60.2 percent. The lowest turnout by percentage was 28.9 percent, in Franklin County.
The highest turnout by votes cast was in Cuyahoga County, where 362,906 votes were counted. The lowest turnout was in Vinton County where 3,710 votes were cast.