Election Day: Ohio Has Been Filled With Candidate Campaign Stops And Scanner Jams

Ohio is hot bed of campaigning even though Election Day has already arrived. Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, and Mitt Romney spent some time in the all-important swing state today. Although it is not unusual for political surrogates to still be on the ground talking to crowds as voters cast their ballots, last minute visits by the candidates is nearly unprecedented.

Vice president Joe Biden was on the way to Cleveland shortly after he presumably voted for himself and his boss in Delaware this morning. The vice president was joined by his wife Jill and several other family members when Air Force 2 landed at Hopkins Airport, according to WFMJ.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan landed just across the tarmac from Biden. During an interview with WRVA radio, Romney had this to say, according to excerpts shard by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“I can’t imagine an election being won or lost by, let’s say, a few hundred votes and you spent your day sitting around.”

According to the latest Rasmussen poll of Ohio voters, the poll indicates that 32 percent of residents cast their ballots during early voting. The political survey revealed that 62 percent of the early votes went to President Barack Obama. Rasmussen also noted that Romney was in the lead with Ohioans who were casting ballots on Election Day but did not offer a percentage figure, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

There were some early morning glitches at Cleveland area polling places earlier this morning. Scanning machine jams caused some voters to be concerned about their ballots being counted, according to the Los Angeles Times. When scanners jam, election officials reportedly put the ballots into an emergency compartment and send them through the counting machine at the end of the day.

The Cuyahoga County area is reportedly key to the president’s campaign. A total of 70 percent of the residents in the urban northern Ohio area voted for Barack Obama in 2008. The southern region of the state is expected to pull heavily for Mitt Romney due primarily to the candidate’s stance on the coal industry. Both Democrats and Republicans in the impoverished southeastern Ohio rely heavily on coal and natural gas jobs. The alleged “war on coal” is expected to play a significant role in how residents in the east, south, and western areas of the Buckeye State cast their ballot.