Stark County voters have entered the final week of early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 general election, with ballots being cast at the Stark County Board of Elections, 3525 Regent Ave. NE in Canton, according to the board and the Ohio Secretary of State.
Early in-person voting runs Wednesday, Oct. 28 through Friday, Oct. 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., then Saturday, Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to the schedule published in The Repository’s Stark County voter guide and the Secretary of State’s statewide early voting schedule. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Interest has been strong. News-Talk 1480 WHBC reported that about 12,000 Stark County voters had already voted early in person as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, with roughly 1,000 people a day voting, and that the total was expected within days to pass the 13,821 early ballots cast in 2022. Stark County Elections Director Susan Verble told WHBC that absentee voting may end up lower, with 21,000 ballots mailed out as of that Tuesday.
Stark County’s Nov. 3 ballot carries the statewide races Ohio voters decide this year — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, two Ohio Supreme Court seats and a U.S. Senate seat — along with statewide Issue 3, the photo ID constitutional amendment, county offices including commissioner and auditor, and local questions including Issue 9, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority renewal.
SARTA returns to the ballot seeking renewal only of its quarter-percent sales tax for ten years, with no increase, according to WHBC. WHBC reported that the tax provides 50 percent of SARTA’s operating revenue, and that voters in May turned down a proposal to raise the sales tax percentage slightly, so the November question is a renewal only.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail was Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 8:30 p.m., according to the Ohio Secretary of State. Under Senate Bill 293, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in December 2025, absentee ballots must now arrive by the close of polls to be counted, with an exception for military and overseas voters — there is no longer a four-day grace period after Election Day, according to The Repository’s voter guide.
Voters who have not yet cast a ballot and miss the early window vote at their precinct polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, when polls across Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., according to the Secretary of State. Residents can check their registration, view a sample ballot and find their polling location through the Stark County Board of Elections and the Secretary of State’s voter tools at voteohio.gov before heading out.
Photo: Niagara66, CC BY-SA