CAMBRIDGE, Ohio — Guernsey County voters are in the final days of early voting for the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, with in-person early voting at the Guernsey County Board of Elections, 627 Wheeling Ave., Suite 101, in Cambridge, running through Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the board of elections. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
The board’s published hours for the closing stretch are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28-30, then 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, the last day to vote early in person. The Ohio Secretary of State’s statewide voting schedule lists the same hours for every Ohio county in the final week.
The deadline to request a ballot by mail has already passed: absentee applications had to be received by the board by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the board says. Voters who already hold an absentee ballot should not count on the mail this late — under Ohio law, a voted absentee ballot must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, to be counted, and there is no postmark grace period for non-military ballots.
The surest route now is hand delivery. The board says a voted absentee ballot may be carried to the secure drop box in front of 627 Wheeling Avenue in Cambridge or brought into the office on Election Day by 7:30 p.m.; no ballots will be accepted over the counter after 7:30 p.m. Anyone returning a ballot for someone else must sign Secretary of State Form 12-P, the absentee ballot delivery attestation required under Directive 2024-21, the board notes.
One local detail matters for anyone looking for the board after the election: the board of elections has announced it will not move to its new 612 Steubenville Avenue location until after the November general election, so all early voting, ballot returns and Election Day business for this election stay at 627 Wheeling Avenue. The board can be reached at 740-432-2680, and it will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, for the Veterans Day holiday.
Early and absentee voting is open to every registered Guernsey County voter with no reason needed, the board says. Voters who have not yet cast a ballot have three paths left: vote early in Cambridge through Sunday afternoon, hand-deliver an already-issued absentee ballot by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, or vote in person on Election Day.
What happens next: early voting ends at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, there is no early voting Monday, and polls across Guernsey County are open Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any absentee ballot not in the board’s hands by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday will not be counted.
Photo: Willjay, CC BY-SA