Athens County voters have four days left to vote early in person before the Tuesday, November 3, 2026 general election, with all early voting in the county at a single location in Athens. According to the Athens County Board of Elections, early voting is held at the board office at 15 S. Court St., Room 130, in Athens, and voters from Nelsonville, The Plains, Albany and Coolville vote early there rather than at their Election Day precincts.
The final stretch follows the statewide schedule published by the Ohio Secretary of State and listed by the board. Early voting runs 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1 — the last early session. There is no early in-person voting on Monday, November 2, according to the Secretary of State.
What voters see depends on their precinct, and the board’s official sample ballots show why a preview helps. The sample ballot produced by the Athens County Board of Elections lists governor and lieutenant governor candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. McColley, Republicans, and Amy Acton and David Pepper, Democrats; Ohio Supreme Court races including Marilyn Zayas and Daniel R. Hawkins; and Athens County Court of Common Pleas judgeships, including Patrick Lang. Voters can pull up their own precinct’s sample ballot on the board’s website.
Every Athens County ballot also includes statewide Issue 3. According to the Ohio Secretary of State, Issue 3 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voters to present photo identification in order to vote. Accepted unexpired photo IDs for in-person voting, as listed by the Secretary of State, include an Ohio driver’s license or state ID card, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles interim ID, a U.S. passport or passport card, a U.S. military or military dependent ID, an Ohio National Guard ID, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID.
For voters with a mail ballot, the focus has shifted from requesting one to returning it. The Secretary of State set October 27 at 8:30 p.m. as the deadline for absentee applications to be received by the board, and that deadline has passed. Non-military, non-overseas absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, November 3 — a postmark alone is not enough — so voters still holding a ballot should return it in person to the board office.
Neither the Athens County Board of Elections nor the Secretary of State has published county-level early turnout figures for Athens County in the sources reviewed for this story, so no turnout total is reported here. Voters with questions can contact the board at 740-592-3201 or check registration and polling places on the board’s website and at VoteOhio.gov.
After Sunday, the remaining option is Election Day itself. Polls across Athens County are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, according to both the Athens County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State, with voting that day at assigned precinct polling places. Voters should bring an accepted photo ID, review their sample ballot in advance, and confirm their polling place before heading out.
Photo: Stch2022, CC BY-SA 4.0