High Early-Voting Turnout in Battleground States
(28 Oct 2016) VOICE-OVER SCRIPT: FROM OHIO TO TEXAS VOTERS ARE ALREADY BEATING A PATH TO THEIR POLLING STATIONS ... SOUNDBITE: (English) Kathy (no last Name given) from Columbus Ohio "I wanted to make sure that I did get to vote. Didn't want to risk any obstacles coming my way on Election Day. " A SENTIMENT ECHOED AROUND THE COUNTRY. MORE THAN 15.5 MILLION VOTES HAVE BEEN CAST, VOTING AT FAR HIGHER RATE THAN IN 2012, ACCORDING TO ASSOCIATED PRESS DATA. THEY POINT TO AN ADVANTAGE FOR DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE HILLARY CLINTON. ... SHOWING STRENGTH IN FLORIDA AND NORTH CAROLINA, BOTH MUST-WIN STATES FOR DONALD TRUMP, AS WELL AS NEVADA, COLORADO AND ARIZONA. CLINTON AND FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA CHOSE NORTH CAROLINA FOR THEIR FIRST JOINT CAMPAIGN APPEARANCE. SOUNDBITE: (English) Michelle Obama: "Voters decide who wins, who loses. Period. End of story. And right now, thankfully, folks are coming out in droves to vote early ... it is amazing to see. We are making our voices heard all across this country." IN THE TOO-CLOSE-TO-CALL BATTLEGROUND STATE OF OHIO ... SOUNDBITE: (English) Donald Trump, Republican presidential nominee: "Early voting is underway, so make sure ... get out and vote. We don't want to give this away." VOTERS DO WORRY ABOUT MAKING THEIR VOICE HEARD ... SOUNDBITE: (English) Jim Twelmeyer, from Columbus Ohio: "I wanted to avoid the lines on Election Day and I wanted to make sure that if I got hit by a bus between now and the election, my vote would still be there. I voted for all Republicans." SOUNDBITE: (English) Thom Gozoski, from Westville Ohio: (093013) "Oh, just to avoid the big lines on Election Day. I think she is the better of the two candidates and Trump kind of scares me." IN THE FIRST WEEK OF EARLY VOTING, OFFICIALS IN SUBURBAN COLUMBUS, OHIO REPORTED NEARLY 160-THOUSAND IN-PERSON AND MAIL-IN BALLOTS. SOUNDBITE (English) David Payne, Deputy Director, Franklin County Board of Elections: "I can tell you there is a large interest in this election. We anticipate about 45 - maybe 45 to 50 percent of folks will vote early this year. " TEXAS HAS ALSO SEEN RECORD EARLY-VOTING COMPARED TO THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, BY THURSDAY, MORE THAN 250,000 PEOPLE HAD VOTED IN HARRIS COUNTY, WHICH COVERS THE HOUSTON AREA. SOUNDBITE (English) Leslie Lenert, Early Voter: "I wanted to make sure and get it done and not leave it until the last minute and not have anything go wrong, so I could participate." SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Skelly, Early Voter: "Completely motivated. // I mean we've had record early voting in Houston so far, so that speaks volumes." TRUMP AGAIN RAISED THE POSSIBILITY OF ELECTION RIGGING AFTER UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS IN TEXAS OF VOTERS HAVING THEIR BALLOTS CHANGED. EARLY VOTING IS NOW UNDERWAY IN AT LEAST 37 STATES. IN ALL, MORE THAN 46 MILLION PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER 8TH. TRACY BROWN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
