CLEVELAND, Ohio – The early voting line wrapped around the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections building Thursday afternoon as Northeast Ohioans waited about 45 minutes to cast their ballots.

As of Thursday afternoon, just over 2 million people had voted early across Ohio, with about 1.2 million voting in person at their local board of elections. More than 850,000 people have returned their absentee ballots by mail.

In Cuyahoga County, about 168,000 people have voted so far in the 2024 election — more than 45,000 of them in person — with three days of early voting remaining.

Most of Ohio’s 8 million registered voters still vote on Election Day, and in Cuyahoga County, more early voters have opted to vote by mail rather than in person. But voters in line at the board of elections Thursday gave numerous reasons why they were willing to wait in line to cast their early ballots.

Some are concerned about the Postal Service’s ability to deliver their ballots on time. Others said they weren’t sure how long the lines at their polling place would be on Election Day. And as ads bombard television screens and social media feeds, some just wanted to stop.

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Parma resident Paul Belfi decided to vote early and in person because he said he did not have full confidence in the electoral system.

“I want to make sure my vote is counted,” the 58-year-old claims manager said.

Belfi and his wife Pam Rusk are both voting for Republican Donald Trump for president and said their biggest concerns are the economy and immigration.

They had both previously voted in early 2020 and noted that the line was much longer then and agreed that early voting was the best way to cast their vote.

“We came here last week, but the line was way too long. We were both free today, so we decided to give it another try,” Belfi said. “I don’t like mail in ballots.”

Retired couple Rebecca Maynard and Jeff Bailey raised concerns about voting by mail due to problems with postal services.

“In Berea there’s only one place to vote and there’s no early voting…And you never know what it’s going to be like on Election Day, I thought it should be less of a line today,” Bailey said.

Maynard, a 68-year-old former emergency room nurse, and Bailey, a 65-year-old former mechanical engineer, moved to Berea from Toledo this year. Both have been early voters for the past two decades and were eager to vote for Kamala Harris for president.

“I thought we were going to be here for hours, and it’s going pretty fast,” Maynard said.

Voters waited in line for about 45 minutes Thursday to cast their ballots.

Cleveland resident Shone Young was happy to see the line moving quickly when she decided to vote during her lunch break from her job as a lab technician in the city’s Slavic Village neighborhood.

Young, 50, lives on the city’s East Side and said it was her first time voting early. She decided to come in person because she wanted to be able to ask poll workers or other employees for clarification about the voting registration.

“Every time I go to vote, they say, ‘You’re not registered here, you’re not registered there.’ And I’m tired of that, and I don’t want to miss my chance to vote,” she said. “I want to make sure I’m in the building personally.”

As a Black woman, she said she was excited to vote for Kamala Harris.

“I would like to see a black woman as president for the first time ever. That will be great. I just hope she actually comes in and does her job,” she said.

Just ahead of Young in line, 46-year-old Nenad Bursac of North Royalton stood in line to vote for the first time ever on Thursday, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.

According to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office, campaign attire, including “MAGA” hats, is prohibited within the perimeter of polling places. Cuyahoga County Board of Elections spokesman Mike West said a poll worker would likely ask Bursac to remove the hat as he reached the door of the building.

“I’m voting for the one and only Trump…I just want the country to be better, I guess. That’s all I know; What it was like when he was president before. I guess we’ll see. Maybe he can make it happen again,” Bursac said.

Bursac, who owns a car dealership, said he decided to vote early in person out of convenience and didn’t know where else to vote. He said he felt safer voting in person.

“You see a lot of mail being lost, being fired and things like that. I want to make sure I do it personally,” he said.

Authorities are searching for a man who allegedly set fire to ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon.

Thirty-five-year-old Andre Tate lives in Cleveland and votes for Kamala Harris. He works for Amazon and cleans planes for United Airlines at the airport, but was off work Thursday and decided to vote.

Tate said he has voted before, first in 2008 when he voted for the first time. He finds the process efficient, with fast lines.

‘Get out, get in, do it. Get it out of the way,” he said.

The closest polling place to his home on the city’s East Side is a church, but he felt his ballot would be more secure at the Board of Elections.

He chose to vote in person instead of by mail and emphasized the importance of voting as a person of color, expressing hope for change and supporting a Black woman for president.

Gian Fernandez, 30, moved to Northeast Ohio in 2022 to get better gender-affirming health care. He now lives in Cleveland Heights with his fiancée. As a transgender man, he said he couldn’t wait to vote early for Kamala Harris, who he said cares more about LGBTQ+ people and their freedom.

He also said he was tired of political ads and had to work on Election Day.

“I’m actually outraged about voting,” he said. “I have always voted on election day. But I want to get it all over with.”

In-person early voting runs through Sunday, but hours will change over the weekend and as we get closer to Election Day. There will be no in-person early voting the Monday before Election Day. The remaining hours for in-person early voting are:

November 1: 7:30 AM – 7:30 PM

November 2: 8am – 4pm

November 3: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

On election day, polling stations are open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM. If you are in line to vote before the polls close on November 5 or during early voting, you can still cast your vote as long as you stay in line.