The polls are open in Ohio. Wednesday was the first day for early voting and so far hundreds of people have cast their ballots in Toledo.

Lucas County Board of Elections says more than 630 people cast their ballots by 2:30 Wednesday afternoon. Deputy Director LaVera Scott says, "When we opened we had 50 people, close to 50 people outside, waiting to come in and vote. And it's just been consistent all day."

Voters say it's a historic election and they're encouraged by the turnout they saw at the poll.

"This year, I have absolutely no doubts and I'm eager to get on the record supporting my candidates," says voter Paula Ross. Voter Sherry Gilbert says, "I've never felt so much drive to go out and vote before. I've voted, but I've never had that drive before."

The Board of Elections says absentee ballots are also now going out and it's important to request one now, if you need one.

"Want to ask people not to wait til the last moment because we want to make sure we have time to get the ballot mailed to them and for them to get the ballot mailed back to us," says Scott.

Absentee ballots must be back to the board of elections by November 8th.

Click here to see the calendar for Early Vote Center Hours.



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Copyright 2016 WTOL. All rights reserved. </s> It was closer than they expected, but it was what they were looking for.

The majority of voters in Tuesday’s referendum question opted to keep the current first-past-the-post system.

John Barrett of the No side said that was the goal.

“I was perhaps a little surprised that it was as close as it was, but at the end of the day, I think that our side prevailed in a fair and square manner,” Barrett told The Guardian Wednesday.

A referendum vote calling for electoral reform was held along with the provincial general election April 23, where voters received two ballots – one to vote for the candidate of their choice and the other to vote on whether they’d like to see electoral reform.

Unofficial results from Elections P.E.I. showed 51 per cent of voters chose to maintain the status quo, while 49 per cent voted for a mixed member proportional (MMP) system.

The referendum threshold was set at 50 per cent plus one of voters in 60 per cent of the districts to be declared the winner, which meant that in order for the Yes side to be honoured, it had to win 17 districts.

The results showed the Yes side took 15 districts, while the No side took 12.

Barrett said he wasn’t surprised by the districts that voted to keep the status quo.

“I assumed that rural Prince Edward Island would be strong No supporters and that the urban areas not as much,” he said. “We were hopeful, and to a certain degree confident, that we would carry the day.”

In an interview Tuesday, a representative from the Yes side said the fight for electoral reform wasn’t over.

Barrett said if further change was suggested, those with similar opinions to the No side would look to see if the proposed change is a good idea or not and said the No side isn’t opposed to electoral reform, just to MMP.

“There’s a lengthy list of issues that we have with MMP, and that’s why we stepped up and spent the time that we did trying to convince the general public of the same.”

Barrett said having the referendum alongside the election was a good idea and said there was enough time for both sides of the question to get their message out to the public.

RELATED </s> Afghans are bracing for more deadly violence on Saturday as voters turn out for the long-delayed legislative election across the war-torn country that the Taliban has vowed to attack.

Some 54,000 security forces have been deployed to protect polling centres, which open at 7:00 am, but there are concerns the killing of a powerful police chief on Thursday will scare off many voters.

Voting has been delayed in the southern province of Kandahar after a Taliban-claimed attack on a US-Afghan security meeting that killed three people, including General Abdul Raziq.

General Scott Miller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, escaped injury in the shooting, but 13 others were wounded.

Almost nine million people have registered to vote in the parliamentary election, which is more than three years late and only the third since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

But the threat of militant attacks and expectations for massive fraud are expected to deter many voters from showing up at the more than 5,000 polling centres.

In the days leading up to the poll, the Taliban has issued several statements urging candidates to withdraw and voters to boycott what the group calls a "malicious American conspiracy".

Shambolic preparations for the ballot have been made worse by a wave of poll-related violence that has left hundreds dead or wounded.

At least 10 candidates out of more than 2,500 contesting the lower-house election have been killed so far.

The most recent victim was Abdul Jabar Qahraman, who was blown up Wednesday by a bomb placed under his sofa in the southern province of Helmand.

Most of the candidates are political novices and include doctors, mullahs and journalists. Those with the deepest pockets are expected to win.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which has spearheaded international efforts to keep Afghan election organisers on track, on Friday urged voters to "exercise their constitutional right to vote".

The poll is seen as a crucial test for next year's presidential election and an important milestone ahead of a UN meeting in Geneva in November where Afghanistan is under pressure to show progress on "democratic processes".

But the eleventh hour introduction of biometric voter verification machines, which have never been used in an Afghan election, threatens to derail the process.

Observers are concerned the results could be thrown into turmoil if the devices are broken, lost or destroyed.

There are also fears the data could be manipulated before preliminary results are released on November 10.

Votes cast without the controversial machines will not be counted, the Independent Election Commission has said, even though polling centre workers have received little or no training in how to use them.
The unofficial results suggest the No vote is in the lead, and only a 40% voter turnout. Official results will be released Friday, November 16.