ATHENS, Ohio — Early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 general election enters its final week in Athens County on Monday, Oct. 26, with ballots cast at the Athens County Board of Elections, 15 S. Court St., Room 130, in Athens, under the statewide early-voting schedule set by the Ohio Secretary of State.
The final week brings the longest hours of the early season. The board is open Monday, Oct. 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28 to 30, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early voting continues Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and ends Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There is no early in-person voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Tuesday, Oct. 27, carries a second deadline Athens County voters should note: absentee ballot applications must be received by the board of elections by 8:30 p.m. that night. Voters who still plan to vote by mail are past the point where mailing a ballot back is the safe option — completed absentee ballots must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, and returning one in person at the board office removes the mail from the equation.
Athens County voters are deciding a full statewide slate this fall — governor, U.S. senator, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and two Ohio Supreme Court seats — along with state legislative races, county offices and local issues. The Athens County Independent’s ballot preview notes cost of living, health care costs, government corruption and data centers among the issues candidates and voters are raising across the county this cycle.
Early ballots are cast at the board of elections office, not at a voter’s regular precinct polling place — the precinct locations open only on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters in line when an early-voting session is scheduled to end are permitted to vote.
The second pass through the county in this election series finds the mechanics of the election, rather than any single race, driving the final week: extended hours, the absentee application cutoff, and the hand-delivery window for mail ballots are the decisions that determine whether a ballot is counted, whatever a voter decides on the candidates themselves.
Voters can confirm their registration, preview what is on their ballot and find their Election Day polling place through the Athens County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State’s voter lookup tools. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. across Athens County.