Fairfield County voters head to their precinct polling places on Tuesday, November 3, after early in-person voting ended Sunday, November 1, at the Fairfield County Board of Elections in Lancaster. Polls across Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, and voters who are in line by 7:30 p.m. have the right to vote, according to the Ohio Secretary of State.
The early-voting period drew a steady stream to the board’s Liberty Center location at 951 Liberty Drive in Lancaster. Board director Jane Hanley told the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette that the office handled anywhere from 600 to 1,000 voters a day after early voting opened on October 6, and that the total was trending a bit above the county’s 2022 pace.
Hanley also told the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette that the board had mailed out about 10,000 mail-in ballots and that about 10,000 people had voted at the Liberty Center as of October 26. Mail-in ballots must be received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be counted, and voters can also drop a completed mail ballot off at the board office instead of mailing it.
Voters who requested a mail-in ballot but decide to vote in person on Tuesday will be required to vote a provisional ballot, Hanley told the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, because the board has already issued that voter a paper ballot. The precaution ensures each person has only one vote counted in the election.
On the county ballot, Commissioner Jeff Fix, Juvenile/Probate Judge Terre L. Vandervoort and Common Pleas Court Judge David Trimmer are running unopposed, according to the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette’s ballot preview. County Auditor Carri Brown faces a write-in challenge from Elaine Flinn, the Eagle-Gazette reported.
Fairfield County precincts will also decide a mix of local issues and options listed in that same Eagle-Gazette preview, including school and library questions in parts of the county, a 5-mill, five-year renewal levy at Buckeye Lake, township levies for roads and for fire, rescue and EMS service, and Sunday-sale local options in Lancaster. Ballot questions vary by precinct, and the board posts a sample ballot for each precinct on its website.
Statewide, Fairfield County voters will decide the governor’s race, the U.S. Senate race and the other state races, along with Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment to require voters to present photo identification. Voters who need their Election Day polling place or a sample ballot can visit boe.ohio.gov/fairfield or call the board at 740-652-7000 or 614-322-5270.