Knox County voters head to their polling places today, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as Election Day arrives in Mount Vernon and across the county, with polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Knox County Board of Elections, at 104 East Sugar Street in Mount Vernon, directed voters to their assigned polling locations for the general election.
Early in-person voting ended Sunday, November 1, after a run that began October 6. WQIO Radio reported a strong start to early voting in the county, with Board of Elections Director James Blazer telling the station 384 voters cast ballots on the first day, October 6, at the board office on East Sugar Street.
On the ballot, Knox County voters join all Ohio voters in deciding the statewide races — governor, U.S. senator, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer, plus the Ohio Supreme Court seats — and statewide State Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on voter photo identification. The county’s verified first-pass coverage also recorded a senior services levy renewal and a contested commissioner race on the local ballot.
One deadline matters more this year than in past cycles. Under Senate Bill 293, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in December 2025, absentee ballots must now be received by the close of polls on Election Day to be counted — there is no longer a grace period for most voters, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Knox County voters holding a completed absentee ballot should deliver it to the board office at 104 East Sugar Street in Mount Vernon by 7:30 p.m., not to a polling place.
Kenyon College’s Center for the Study of American Democracy reminded Gambier voters that students and village residents vote at the Gambier Community Center on Meadow Lane, open the same 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. hours, and that absentee ballots are accepted only at the board office, not at polling places.
What happens next is the count. Polls close at 7:30 p.m., and the Knox County Board of Elections will report unofficial results tonight, with official canvass and certification to follow in the coming days. Voters in line at 7:30 p.m. are entitled to cast a ballot.
Photo: Mark Spearman, CC BY