COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans have already cast more ballots before Election Day than in any midterm in state history, and the polls are now open for everyone else. More than 1.7 million Ohioans voted early in the Nov. 3 general election, breaking the previous midterm record of 1.5 million set in 2022, according to Ohio Secretary of State data reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Columbus Dispatch.
Nearly 1.1 million people voted in person through Sunday, Nov. 1, the final day of early voting, and roughly 632,000 had returned mail-in ballots, the Enquirer reported from the secretary of state’s figures. More than 104,000 absentee ballots were still outstanding heading into Election Day, and under Ohio’s current law they must be in a county board of elections’ hands by 7:30 p.m. tonight to be counted.
The record was built on in-person voting, not mail. Election officials issued 736,733 absentee ballots this year, down from roughly 1 million requested four years ago, according to the secretary of state’s office as reported by The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio no longer offers the four-day grace period for ballots that arrive after Election Day — a change made by Senate Bill 293 — and voters who still hold a mail ballot are being urged to drop it off in person rather than mail it.
The party breakdown of ballots issued during the early period was close: the state issued 478,129 ballots to registered Democrats and 443,993 to registered Republicans, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Election officials and analysts caution that early-vote totals show who has voted, not how they voted, and that a record early turnout does not by itself predict who wins tonight.
What those early voters decided is the most closely watched set of races in the country. Ohio voters are choosing a governor between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton, deciding a U.S. Senate contest between Republican Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown that could shape control of the chamber, electing the rest of the statewide executive offices and two Ohio Supreme Court seats, and voting on State Issue 3, the proposed photo ID constitutional amendment.
The early-vote surge played out county by county across Ohio. NewsForce247’s Election Day coverage this morning includes Jackson County voters heading to the polls after early voting ended in Jackson and Huron County’s Election Day turnout in Norwalk, part of a rotation that has carried a local election story through every Ohio county this fall.
Northwest Ohio shared fully in the surge. In Lucas County, more than 41,000 people voted early, and the county’s elections director said no early voting day drew fewer than 1,000 voters, 13abc (WTVG) reported; the county’s early total more than doubled its 2022 figure. In Stark County, more than 43,000 voters had cast ballots by Oct. 29 — already above the county’s entire 2022 midterm early-vote total of 42,580, The Canton Repository reported.
For voters heading out today, the mechanics are simple. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and anyone in line at 7:30 p.m. may still vote. Voters cast ballots at their assigned precinct polling place, which can be confirmed through their county board of elections or the secretary of state’s VoteOhio.gov lookup, and in-person voters should bring an accepted photo ID.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is confirmed: the early-vote record (more than 1.7 million ballots, per the secretary of state’s data), the 7:30 p.m. deadline for both polls and returned absentee ballots, and the end of the post-Election Day grace period. What is not known yet is Election Day turnout itself — whether today’s in-person vote pushes total participation well past 2022 — and, of course, every result. No race will be called by this newsroom before the evidence supports it.
Counting begins after polls close at 7:30 p.m., when boards of elections start reporting unofficial results, beginning with the early and absentee ballots already in hand. Close statewide races may not be settled until late tonight or beyond, and official canvasses and certifications come in the days ahead.
What happens next: vote today before 7:30 p.m. if you have not yet voted, return any outstanding absentee ballot in person to your county board of elections by the same deadline, and follow tonight’s returns as Ohio decides the races that will run the state — and help decide control of the U.S. Senate — for the next two years and beyond.
Photo: Tim Evanson, CC BY