Numerous Ohio voters switched parties in primary contest

COLUMBUS (AP) — Swing state Ohio saw its voters sway in the presidential primary, with more than three times as many Democrats casting Republican ballots compared with the number of GOP party switchers, according to new data being released today from the state’s election chief. Some highlights:

• Nearly 1.2 million voters cast a ballot in the Democratic primary; almost 35,000 were previously affiliated with the Republican Party.

• Almost 2 million voters marked Republican ballots, including nearly 116,000 who were previously affiliated with the Democratic Party.

• Democratic-affiliated voters represented about 6 percent of all Republican votes cast in the primary, compared with roughly 4 percent in the 2012 primary.

• GOP-affiliated voters made up almost 3 percent of all Democratic ballots cast in the primary; compared with less than 2 percent in 2012.

• More than 1.6 million previously unaffiliated voters are now tied to a political party. Of those, 910,131 are new Republicans and 710,067 are now affiliated with the Democratic Party.

• Before the March election, the state’s political party breakdown was: 5,473,466 unaffiliated voters; 1,267,898 Republican; and 810,949 Democratic.

• Post-primary, the party breakdown is: 3,916,669 unaffiliated; 2,260,799 Republican; and 1,440,700 Democratic.