Fairfield County voters can cast an early in-person ballot this week at the county Board of Elections, 951 Liberty Drive in Lancaster, where early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, October 23, under the statewide schedule set by the Ohio Secretary of State for the November 3 general election.
Early in-person voting began October 6 at the Liberty Drive office and continues on the Secretary of State’s uniform statewide calendar. Hours expand in the final stretch: Saturday, October 24 runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, October 26 runs 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, October 27 runs 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., followed by 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. days from October 28 through October 30.
The last weekend of early voting brings a Saturday session on October 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a Sunday session on November 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Early in-person voting then closes, and voters who have not yet cast a ballot will vote at their assigned polling places on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, when polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voters who prefer to vote by mail face a hard deadline next week: absentee ballot applications must be received by the board of elections by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27. Under Ohio’s current law, voted absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to count, a change Fairfield County election officials have been urging voters to plan around rather than risk a late mail delivery.
Board Director Jane Hanley has previously encouraged Fairfield County voters who cannot vote in person on Election Day to vote early in person or hand-deliver a completed ballot to the board office instead of mailing it, so delivery by the Election Day deadline is certain. The ballot drop box outside the Liberty Drive office is available around the clock.
Fairfield County ballots this fall carry a mix of statewide races, municipal contests, and local questions, including several municipal, library, and school issues asking voters across the county to decide funding requests. Voters can preview their specific ballot through the board of elections and the Secretary of State’s voter tools before heading to Liberty Drive.
Anyone unsure of their registration status, early voting location, or Election Day polling place can check through the Fairfield County Board of Elections at boe.ohio.gov/fairfield or the Secretary of State’s statewide voter lookup. Election officials remind voters to bring an accepted form of photo identification when voting in person.