Cleveland’s Democratic leaders rang in the start of Ohio’s early voting season with a pep rally and cookout across from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections last week. U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown and many others clustered onto a small Euclid Avenue street corner. The music – turned up to eardrum-rattling levels – came to an abrupt end when the sound system shorted out. Brown had to shout to be heard over the hum of a portable generator. “We’re going to show the nation why Cuyahoga County is still the leader in voters in the state of Ohio,” she said. “We have to punch above our weight, y’all.” The key phrase there is “above our weight.” Franklin County is now the vote leader in Ohio. Four years ago, 636,056 people cast ballots in the growing county that includes Columbus. Cuyahoga County was behind with 631,199 ballots. Cuyahoga still tops the Democratic vote list, but just barely. Joe Biden won around 416,000 votes here, compared to about 409,000 in Franklin County. As we noted this week in the Signal Statewide newsletter, Ohio’s political center of gravity has been shifting south to Columbus. One politician who feels the strain of low voter turnout is Richard Starr, the City Council member from the Central neighborhood who represents Ward 5. In 2020 – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic – almost 39% of Ward 5’s registered voters cast ballots. Countywide, turnout was 71%. “People sometimes do not see the value of voting,” Starr told Signal Cleveland after the rally. “When you live in an impoverished neighborhood, sometimes you feel so disconnected, whether you elect the person or not, you’re still living in poverty.”Starr is active in the local effort to get Black men to vote. He also brought around two dozen people from the Skyline Tower senior apartment building to cast ballots early on Tuesday, he said. Speaking of voter turnoutWe told you last week that Cleveland is making Election Day a half-day holiday for many city workers. The nonprofit Cleveland Votes followed up on that news by sharing a list of 21 local employers who are giving staff time off to cast ballots. Also last week, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority announced that buses and trains will be free on Election Day, Nov. 5, thanks to a $105,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation.The post Cleveland Democrats try to rally the Ohio early vote as Election Day closes in appeared first on Signal Cleveland.First published by Signal Cleveland.