Multi-car accident caused polls in multiple counties to stay open late

March 16--Update@ 8:36 p.m.:

According to our news partners, WCPO 9 On Your Side, a semi-truck may have pushed a car off the Combs-Hehl Brirdge on Interstate 275 near Coney Island during a series of chain-reaction crashes that happened about 4:30 p.m.

WCPO reports that 12 vehicles were involved in the chain reaction on the bridge, according to Campbell County Police Chief Craig Sorrell. Injuries to the motorists on the bridge were not life-threatening, he said.

A car fell off the bridge into the Ohio River, and attempts to pull the car out of the river are underway, according to WCPO.

Update@ 8:05 p.m.:

Due to a court order from Susan Dlott, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the polls in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties will remain open until 8:30pm. This is due to a traffic issue in the region, according to a press release from the Ohio Secretary of State's office.

Results will not be interrupted, the release said.

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Polls for today's primary election in Ohio closed at 7:30 p.m. Voters who were in line at the time of polls closing will be allowed to cast their ballots.

Greene County Board of Elections Director Llyn McCoy said voter turnout countywide was good today and especially heavy in Beavercreek and Fairborn and near college campuses.

"It seems like The Highlands where Wright State students are, there seems like is a heavy turnout there from what I've heard," McCoy said. "Sounds like the same thing in Cedarville where Cedarville students are coming out to vote."

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There was a higher than usual number of provisional voters in Greene County during this election, which means there were students registered to vote somewhere else within the state but they are choosing to vote at their university, according to McCoy.

For the first time in decades, both Ohio's Republican and Democratic primaries are in play during today's primary. All eyes have been on Ohio as five of the six major presidential candidates all campaigned across the state over the weekend.

"It has been a busy day," according to Jeff Monroe, chairman of the Warren County Board of Elections. "We've been relatively event-free."

Brian Sleeth, Warren County Board of Elections director, said polling sites there had not experienced machine problems, and turnout was as expected, which he estimated likely will mean about 40 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.

In Montgomery County, a few voters reported slow lines and machines not working Tuesday morning, but any reported problems seemed to be isolated and fixed quickly. In Kettering, Scott Tulloch said he showed up to his polling location early to vote, but had to leave to go to work before he was able to, blaming disorganization.

During a 3 p.m. press conference, the Montgomery County Board of Elections reported a 12 percent voter turnout of registered Democrats. There was a 16 percent voter turnout for Republicans.

Some voters said they ran into problems and confusion voting at their polls.

Several Republican voters said they were confused by the voting opportunities on the ballot. Every Republican primary voter in Ohio have two opportunities to vote for president.

GOP ballots for the today's primary feature two boxes for president: one for designating an at-large presidential delegate and one for designating a district delegate. It's a carry-over from a time when Ohio's Republican vote was divided proportionally, rather than in the winner-take-all fashion being used in 2016.

The two boxes raise obvious questions: Do voters get two votes? Can conflicted voters split their vote, or do votes for two candidates cancel each other out? If only one of the two boxes is filled in, does the person's vote still count?

Ohio never changed a requirement that both boxes be listed, and the secretary of state's office says both will also tallied. But the Ohio Republican Party says only one will count.

"Because there are two pathways to selecting delegates to represent Ohio at the convention, voters must vote twice -- once for the congressional district delegate and once for delegate at-large," said party spokeswoman Brittany Warner. "The votes that will be counted to determine the results are the delegates at-large."

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Jeremy Alexander of Englewood said he and others had issues when they voted at First Methodist Church on Herr Street this morning.

Alexander said he went to the poll and declared Republican party affiliation. He said he took the card but was only able to cast ballot for the issues, not candidates. When he went back to complain, he said he was told he wasn't able to vote on candidates.

When he continued to complain, he was put on the phone with a Montgomery County Board of Election official who told him he could file a provisional ballot.

During a press conference this morning, elections officials said they had received several complaints of voters not receiving the ballot they requested. They said this should not happen if a voter clearly requests the party affiliation they want to vote for.

"Voters can choose a Republican, Democrat, Green Party, or issues only," said Jan Kelly, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. "Voter have to ask for which ballot style the want."

Mary Head, 55, of Trotwood said she "volunteered my party verbally out loud" but the Democrat also received a ballot without candidates and just two issues specific to Trotwood voters: a renewal levy and a proposed electric aggregation ordinance.

Head lives in Trotwood's Precinct 4-B, which votes at Cannan Baptist Church, 5191 Hoover Ave.

After a 30-minute drive to her Centerville workplace, Head, an insurance office administrator and agent, heard Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the radio telling listeners he had just voted for himself in the Republican primary.

"I said 'wait a minute,' there were no people on my ballot," she said. "I made it a point to be there at seven o'clock in the morning. I did not get up out of bed early to not put my vote in."

Head doesn't go so far to suggest fraud, "but also we don't have any idea how many people were given an incorrect ballot." A greater contributing factor is likely the youth and inexperience of the pollworkers in her precinct, she said.

At about noon, Head called the Montgomery County Board of Elections and was told officials will work with her to solve the problem, but it required her to return to her polling location after work.

Dayton Daily News reporter Jeremy Kelley also was given the wrong ballot when trying to vote at LifePointe Church on Marshall Road in Kettering, but with a different outcome.

Kelley requested an issues-only ballot, but after inserting the card into the machine, quickly saw that he had been given a Republican ballot instead. He alerted poll workers, who told him to let the machine time-out without casting any votes.

Poll workers then took the incorrect card, had Kelley re-sign the electronic poll book, and gave him a card with the issues-only ballot that he had requested.

In Miami County, officials reported no problems with the polls, plus had no reports of lines or any major problems with the electronic voting machines.

"It is a normal election day," said elections Director Bev Kendall.

Elsewhere, lines were backing up at several polling locations around noon, poll workers said. In Fairborn, a long line formed at the First Presbyterian Church polling location.

You can learn more about all of the issues and candidates on today's ballot in our interactive voters guide here.

Also, here's a look at 10 of the hot issues and races on today's ballot.

Later tonight we will have live election updates at DaytonDailyNews.com and WHIO.com starting at 7:30 p.m.

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SPECIAL RADIO REPORTS ON WHIO

Tune in to AM 1290 and News 95.7 WHIO from 5-9 a.m. for a special election edition of Miami Valley's Morning News. Join us for special live coverage with Rich Jones and Jamie Dupree from 6-7 p.m. WHIO's Live Primary Night Coverage hosted by Brittany Otto from 7 p.m. -- midnight. Guests include Fox's Briand Kilmeade and WHIO's Jamie Dupree. Stream live at whio.com

First Presbyterian Church in Fairborn.

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