Ohio is probably the most important battle ground state in this election and the race there is very close. According to the latest CNN poll, Obama leads Romney by 3 percent. Both candidates will campaign in Ohio repeatedly before November 6 to secure the 18 electoral votes that are up for grabs.

Once we crossed the state border, we could immediately tell the difference to other states where the race isn’t as close: The radio stations were constantly playing political ads from both parties (we know them by heart now). People told us that they get many (automated) phone calls each day from various local, state, and national candidates. The campaign teams drop entire brochures of voting information in people’s mailboxes. Many voters must be really tired of this by now. Some said they were happy that everything’s over on next Tuesday.

We went to the only voting office in the Cincinnati area (Hamilton County) where early voting is possible (all other locations will only be open on November 6). There was a long line, some voters had to wait outside for around 45 minutes. A few feet away from them, some of the local candidates greeted them (they weren’t allowed to talk to voters once those got in line) and campaign volunteers handed out last minute information and sample ballots. Here are some more impressions of what it was like: