1.7 Million Ohioans Vote Early, Toppling 2022 Midterm Record

More than 1.7 million Ohioans cast their ballots before Election Day, shattering the previous record for midterm election turnout. Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the final tally in a news release on Monday, marking a new high for the state.

LaRose stated that Ohioans crushed the 2022 early voting record for a gubernatorial election. He described Ohio as the Gold Standard and expressed pride in seeing another record-breaking year. The data shows close to 1.1 million votes were cast at county boards of elections. These sites served as early voting locations from the beginning of October until the last Sunday before the election.

Mail-in ballots accounted for the remainder of the early total. Over 630,000 mail-in ballots were returned as of November 1. This figure represents about 86% of all mail-in ballots requested this year. Voters who requested a ballot but have not returned it must deliver it to their local board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Statewide, voting by mail saw a sharp decline this year. Requests dropped more than 26% compared to 2022, falling from 1 million to 730,000. Despite the lower statewide mail-in numbers, Cuyahoga County recorded the most early voters. Secretary of State data attributes this to the high volume of mail-in ballots requested and returned within the county.

Franklin County processed the most voters at its early voting center. Board of Elections Director Antone White told reporters in October that the facility could handle up to 800 voters per hour. On Sunday afternoon, a long line snaked through the lot, creating waits that lasted several hours for those waiting in line, according to interviews conducted by the Statehouse News Bureau.