Official predicts large turnout for Tuesday primary

Ohio generally has a poor turnout in primaries.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s top elections official predicted Friday that 52 percent of registered voters will turn out for next week’s primary, an incredibly high estimate she bases on evidence from Ohio counties, the experience of other states and voter excitement.

“I think we’re going to see a big turnout because of the high interest in this election, and I’m glad to see it. And I think our boards are going to be prepared for that,” said Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, whose performance Tuesday will be under a national microscope in the wake of the state’s tight, attention-grabbing 2004 presidential election.

Brunner and Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, both Democrats, said their offices have made extensive preparations to ensure the election goes smoothly.

Helping matters along was a unanimous ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday resolving one lingering lawsuit.

The court upheld a lower court decision that said Union County commissioners lacked the authority to challenge Brunner’s order to provide paper ballots to any would-be touch-screen voter who wants one.

Primary turnout in Ohio is typically abysmal. In the 2004 presidential election, for example, 33 percent of registered voters turned out in the primary — though an enormous 72 percent voted in the general election. In 2006, 24 percent voted in the primary, with 56 percent turning out to elect the governor and a host of other statewide officials.

Brunner said she based her high turnout estimate on a combination of factors, including participation in primaries elsewhere.

Connecticut, for example, shattered a previous turnout record in a presidential primary of 43.3 percent with 60 percent primary turnout, Brunner said. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of early ballots are being requested across Ohio — many in association with giant political rallies being staged by Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.

Brunner said Obama’s rivalry with Hillary Clinton is capturing a huge amount of voter attention, prompting many people to vote who never have before.

Elections officials also have noted that some Republicans — whose party’s nomination of John McCain is all but assured — are switching parties and voting, either to support one of the candidates or to pick a rival they believe gives McCain his best chances in the fall.

Dann, whose office helps enforce election law, predicted better primary and general elections this year “than the voters of Ohio have seen in at least half a generation.”

He said he will have 25 lawyers on standby across the state to take legal action, or to otherwise resolve conflicts, who can react immediately to voter concerns or attempts at illegal activity.

Brunner said one lingering concern is that poll workers in some counties will be taking voting machines home this weekend, as they have as a convenience for years — on so-called “sleepovers” in advance of election day. She said she will seek to end the practice in time for the November general election but decided it would be too disruptive to act before the primary.

To address any security worries, Brunner said she is keeping detailed records of who has custody of the machines at all times. And Dann’s office will be paying close attention.

“To the extent that anybody tries to breach that chain of custody, to breach those machines and attack the integrity of the election, we will make sure that they go to jail,” he said.

Brunner said she has issued 68 directives that she hopes have clarified many of the lingering issues that caused problems in past Ohio elections. They have laid out precise voter ID requirements, addressed voting machine security measures and established procedures for poll observers.

Election officials will be linked to her office through an electronic message board where they can ask questions throughout the day, and they will hand out up to 4 million feedback cards to voters that will be used to identify new concerns before November, she said.

Phone banks will be set up to field voter calls.

The election has been particularly spirited for both parties this year because no incumbent is running and because President Bush has experienced unusually low approval ratings.