Number of registered voters statewide is down from four years ago

CLEVELAND - If you aren't registered to vote, you're out of luck. Tuesday's lines at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections were proof a lot of people waited until the last minute.

About 800 people either registered or changed their registry Wednesday in Cuyahoga County alone. Despite that number, statewide the number of registered voters in actually down. Counties across Ohio have been doing some cleanup over the past couple of years. They've been getting rid of people who registered at more than on address, in more than one county or those who died and were still registered.

Right now, there are about 7.9 million registered voters in Ohio. That compares to 8.3 million who were registered four years ago, the last presidential election year. A lot of those people may have already voted.

The Ohio Secretary of State's office said they have processed more than one million requests for absentee ballots. Another 60,000 people have voted early in person. More than two-thirds of eligible voters went to the polls in 2008.