As the election draws closer, political stories about Donald Trump’s comments and Athens voter registration have been making headlines in the past few days. Here are some of the top stories from the week.
Athens County Republican Building vandalized
On Tuesday morning, workers at for the Athens County Republican Party headquarters on West Union Street noticed graffiti on the building’s wall.
“Racism Lives Here” was spray painted on one side of the building, and “Fascism Lives Here” was displayed on another side.
The vandalism is believed to have occurred between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, according to Athens County Republican Party Chair Pete Couladis.
Couladis said he might not remove the graffiti immediately.
"We're going to leave it so people can look at it and see what this community has become," Couladis said. "Eventually we'll do something about it."
Voter registration down from 2012 election
As of Tuesday afternoon, the number of people registered to vote in Athens was down compared to those registered in 2012. As of about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 44,651 people had registered to vote, compared to the 47,858 that had registered in 2012.
Organizations have been proactive in getting students to register to vote. The Ohio University College Democrats, who set up tables in locations around campus, have even used a megaphone to persuade students.
Bob Malott, an OU graduate, walked up and down Court Street singing about the presidential candidates, while also handing out registration forms.
Olga Thomas, a clerk at the Athens County Board of Elections, said around 500 to 700 registration forms had yet to be processed since mid-afternoon Tuesday, and they expected more forms to come in by the the deadline.
Republican women in Athens still support Trump, despite comments
Some local Republicans are still supporting presidential nominee Donald Trump after audio was released of the candidate making vulgar and objectifying comments about women.
Others, such as OU College Republicans president David Parkhill, called the statements inappropriate. He said he didn’t think anyone else in the party would agree with those statements.
Some politicians have revoked their endorsements from Trump, including Ohio Senator Rob Portman.
Drug and theft reports headline Homecoming week crimes
The Ohio University Police Department had a busy Homecoming week, responding to more than 30 calls.
Eleven of the reports were drug-related crimes. Many of those violations occurred near local “waterfronts,” such as the creek near the Academic Research Center and the Hocking River.
The department received a total of 11 theft reports, with some thieves targeting cars parked in university-owned parking lots. On Saturday, a string of four campus car thefts, three of which were successful, were reported within a six-hour period.
OUPD also documented three instances of criminal mischief and one report of disorderly conduct by fighting.
