Ohio Early Vote Total Tops 1.7 Million, Surpassing 2022 Midterm Record

Ohio has set a new record for midterm early voting, with more than 1.7 million ballots cast before Election Day.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose confirmed the milestone in a Monday news release, stating that the state has broken the previous high for gubernatorial races. He noted, “Ohioans crushed the 2022 early voting record for a gubernatorial election.” LaRose added that he was proud to see another record-breaking year, calling Ohio the Gold Standard.

County boards of elections recorded nearly 1.1 million in-person early votes. These sites operated from October until the Sunday preceding the election. Another 630,000 mail-in ballots were returned by Nov. 1. This figure represents 86% of the total 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.

Mail-in ballot usage dropped significantly from the previous cycle. Requests fell from 1 million in 2022 to 730,000 in 2026, a decrease of more than 26%. Cuyahoga County led the state in early voter counts, driven by high mail-in activity. Franklin County, however, processed the highest number of voters at its physical early voting center.

Antone White, the Franklin County Board of Elections Director, said in October that the center could handle up to 800 voters per hour. On Sunday afternoon, long lines formed outside the facility. Voters interviewed by the Statehouse News Bureau reported waiting for several hours to cast their ballots.