<p>I live in Allegheny County, western PA and will be attending school in Cleveland.
Will my absentee ballot be counted in PA? We had soilders sue the state for their absentee ballots counted.
Basically should I register in Cleveland, OH, or PA?
My opinion is Cleveland will be a more competive vote, as BO is expected to carry the area, but needs a big win there to win OH. Also, roughly 20% in Allegheny are undecided.</p>
<p>You can register in either your home or school district.</p>
<p>They’re both swing states…</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>But realistically, OH is much more of a swing state this year than PA. In a presidential election, how specific counties vote don’t factor into the number of electoral votes received. The only thing that matters is the popular vote within the state in question.</p>
<p>Personally if I had the choice, I would vote in Ohio so I wouldn’t have to go through the mess of having to vote absentee and also have the confidence of voting in person that the vote was counted (at least as far as you can tell).</p>
<p>Being a “Flori-duh” resident, even though I’m going to college in state, I am planning to register to vote where I attend college so I can vote in person. Also, the area where I go to college is more swing in local and state elections.</p>
<p>Just be sure if you vote in Ohio you know what is required of you, especially the ID laws. I looked it up and PA allows student ID to be used as identification. Ohio does not. Ohio also only accepts their own drivers licenses for identification, so you may need to bring your passport as your ID if you plan to vote in Ohio. Just be sure to know your rights!</p>
<p>I would register in Pennsylvania, if only because you won’t have to worry about getting absentee ballots for elections that you’re not away at school for (unless the presidential election is the only one you care about).</p>
<p>The reason my county matters is that I will vote for specific reps based on where I live, but it does matter during the primaries. Precints do matter during the election. </p>
<p>I am surprised OH requires ID, for there was a huge voter fraud scandal involving ACORN.
Haha, why would you make a comment about only caring about the general election? And the vast majority of elections occur during the college school year, I can’t recall the last time we had one during the summer. If I registered in PA, I would likely use only an absentee, as I would not be home for any election.
I would argue PA is just as competitive as OH, as both states have very similair demographs, and many here are still undecided. Philly will most likely go to BO, but western PA and central PA is largely up for grabs, and PGH isn’t as diverse as Philly. Western PA is pretty important, so its a tough call. I have heard that absentee votes aren’t always counted in PA, but are in TX…</p>
<p>Most people who vote do so only in the general election.</p>
<p>Hello from an Ohioan. I would register to vote here - I am registered to vote in the county I go to school in rather than where my parents live. I live here at least 9 months out of the year and know more about the local politics (when we’re not talking general election.) So it seems entirely appropriate.</p>
<p>I vote absentee because I have no easy way to get to my voting station and also to avoid dealing with very poorly observed ID laws. (Boo to policies deliberately aimed at disenfranchising young students!) There is the worrisome trade off of not being assured that the vote is counted, so to speak, and there’s not a lot you can do about that. If it’s any consolation, Jennifer Brunner (new Ohio Secretary of State) seems sincere in her desire to clean up a lot of the state’s issues with voting. There seem to be decently well-intentioned people overseeing this, though I think the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is as messed up as ever.</p>
<p>But hey - remember to give yourself enough time to register and receive the absentee ballot.</p>
<p>Your comment was irrelovant to the question, and a bit snarky and assumptive.
This year also saw record turnouts in the primary, and in certain areas surpassed the 50% (registered voters, NH hit 51%) mark, which showed most people in given area x voted in more than just the general.</p>
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<p>By law, all absentee ballots must be counted before the results can be certified by the secretary of state.</p>