Good morning all. We’re just one day away from the election of a lifetime (let’s hope, at least, that this election is some kind of once-in-a-lifetime aberration and not the new norm). Have you voted early? You have until 2 p.m. today to do so. Otherwise, get out there and vote tomorrow. It’s your last chance.
Speaking of that — yesterday, a line of about 1,300 eager early voters stretched a half mile through downtown Cincinnati waiting to get into the Hamilton County Board of Elections to vote. It’s good that those folks fired up about the democratic process, right? Well, yes and no. Turns out, having one early polling location for a county of 800,000 people — as Hamilton County does — probably isn’t a great idea. According to one CityBeat staffer who turned out to vote yesterday, the wait was about two hours. And there wasn’t even a rollercoaster ride at the end, other than the insane emotional one we’ve all been on for months.
• The huge turnout was likely due to Democrats and faith leaders doing last minute “souls to the polls” voter turnout pushes, but it mirrors an overall record-setting in-person early voting period for Hamilton County. The number of in-person — as opposed to mail-in ballot — early voters in Hamilton County has topped 27,000, crushing 2012’s 24,300 early votes. When mail-in ballots are considered, this year lags 2012 slightly. But it’s clear that in-person voting has increased remarkably, something that has drawn national attention to the county’s lack of capacity to accommodate all those voters.
• The Ray Tensing murder trial continues today with what looks to be the last day of prosecution witnesses after a very dramatic end Friday. Last week’s testimony ended early after a couple bombshell moments in the case. The first revelation, which came midway through testimony from prosecution witnesses, was that former UCPD officer Tensing was wearing a T-shirt with a Confederate flag on it underneath his uniform when he shot unarmed black motorist Samuel DuBose. The shirt had the controversial rebel flag and the words “Great Smoky Mountains” emblazoned on it.
• That wasn’t the only big development, however. A little later in the day, jurors refused to return from a brief recess until they were assured that Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan would not release the 25-page juror questionnaires they had filled out. Those are usually public record, and The Cincinnati Enquirer had requested them and other jury information. Shanahan initially agreed to release the questionnaires with juror names redacted, but jurors balked at this, ending trial proceedings for the day. The stalemate ended when the Enquirer withdrew its request. Today, jurors are hearing testimony from the coroner who received DuBose’s body and the Cincinnati Police Department’s Martin Odom, who examined Tensing for injuries after the shooting. Odom has testified today that Tensing appeared to have only a few scratches following the incident with DuBose. Tensing claimed he was dragged by DuBose’s car before shooting him and that he feared for his life.
• Well, it took a little while, but you knew it was probably coming. The almost-entirely cordial race between interim Hamilton County Commissioner Dennis Deters, a Republican, and his Democratic opponent State Rep. Denise Driehaus has gotten a lot less so in the waning days of the campaign with a couple nasty ads. Driehaus says Deters started it with a TV spot a couple weeks back accusing her of raising sewer rates, a hot button topic here. Driehaus’ campaign says the ad is false, and has hit back. Luckily, there’s only a day left until this is all over, so the acrimony can’t go too far. Let’s all just get along and play nice, shall we? My dentist says if I grind my teeth much more I’m going to need dentures. Y’all don’t want that, do you?
• Pick any two topics you never wanted to hear any more nonsense about and this election will deliver you more than you could ever handle, guaranteed. Case in point: GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has made the looming replacement of the structurally obsolete Brent Spence Bridge a campaign issue, promising to replace it if he gets elected. Trump made a somewhat vague promise about the bridge during a campaign stop in Wilmington Friday, where he said he would redirect funds the U.S. currently pays to the United Nations to bankroll the $2.6 billion project. He did not reveal any other details about the pledge. The aging bridge, which carries I-75 over the Ohio River, is a major commercial artery and sees much more traffic than it was designed to handle, It’s on a federal list for infrastructure in imminent need of an upgrade. Controversy has flared over a proposed public-private partnership replacement that would require tolls, which many Northern Kentucky lawmakers oppose.
• Finally, here’s a story too depressing to be true, but which is probably true nonetheless. Tourists from South Africa, Australia and Europe are coming to tour Ohio due to a morbid curiosity about a potential electoral win for Trump. Nicholas Wood runs a company called Political Tours, which normally takes people to places like North Korea, Cuba and Russia. This year, however, his most requested destination has been the Buckeye State, he says, in connection with The Donald’s quest for the presidency. They’re coming to get an understanding of why a large swath of the American people are supporting the reality TV star, and swing state Ohio has struck them as the place to do so. Two tours have already filled up, and a third is planned for Florida, another battleground state in the election.
This article appears in Nov 2-9, 2016.