This is a developing story that will be updated with information throughout the day.
The sun has barely risen before voters have made their way to one of the three voting locations in Oxford: the Marcum Hotel and Conference Center, Talawanda High School and Kramer Elementary School.
On the local ballot, voters will see two seats open for county commissioners, three levies and three state supreme court seats. However, what most voters will jump to is the presidential options: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Follow The Miami Student for regular updates on how Miami Students and Oxford residents are voting at the polls throughout the day.
6:30 a.m.
When the polls opened at 6:30 a.m. in Ohio, Kramer Elementary had a line of 30 people lined up ready to vote.
Kramer is the voting location for many Miami students who live off campus and nearby Oxford residents; however, no students were in line to vote in the early hours of election day.
However, two Miami seniors, Anai Johnson and Mollie Duffy, were volunteering at the polls for Election Protection, a nationwide organization where a team of attorneys who work out of a protection center in Columbus takes calls all day related to any issues that people have with their polling place. Duffy said the issue may be that someone wasn’t able to vote for some reason, anything regarding voter suppression and more.
“We're kind of the front of the line,” Duffy, a political administration major, said. “People who are basically able to connect them with this hotline or answer their immediate questions for them, so we had a basic training just to answer anything that voters [could have issues with].”
Johnson, one of the first people on the sidelines volunteering, said her job is to make sure everything goes smoothly and people are following the rules. She added that their other responsibilities range from making sure everyone’s vote is heard to ensuring political entities and other affiliated parties are 100 feet away from the booths.
The line leading into Kramer dwindled quickly as people headed off to work, but there was still a steady flow of people coming and going. Cheryl Birkenhauer was one of the many Oxford residents getting her vote in before work.
Birkenhauer said one of her biggest concerns was the candidates running for president. She voted for Harris.
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“I want our rights, the women's rights, to be heard,” Birkenhauer said.
She added that the Ohio State Senate race is another important seat up for election and she favors Sherrod Brown over Bernie Moreno.
As the sun was still rising over Oxford, Mark Crispin, an Oxford resident, said he came out to vote to see some change in the direction of the country, and he voted for Trump to make that happen.
“[Voting] is really important,” Crispin said. “Oxford is a pretty much liberal town, so Republicans need to get out and vote.”
Crispin also voted no on Issue 1, a proposed amendment that would bring the responsibility of redistricting to Ohio citizens, and take it away from the hands of politicians.
By 7:00 a.m. the line to vote reached one to three people.
Reporting by Senior Campus and Community Editor Taylor Stumbaugh.
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