Ohio Early Voting 2018: How Many Ballots Have Already Been Cast?

A larger number of Ohio voters have requested absentee ballots for the upcoming midterm election, compared to previous elections. But those voters appear to be taking longer to consider which candidates to support. Fewer absentee ballots have been returned, compared to the same time period in 2014.


Breaking Down the Early Voting Numbers

Here’s how the numbers break down, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The stats were made available on October 16:

• As of October 12, an estimated 910,982 voters in Ohio had requested absentee ballots through the mail. But only 42,470 of those ballots have been returned. That’s less than 5 percent.

• 7,914 military members and U.S. citizens living overseas have requested absentee ballots. 1,176 have filled out and returned those ballots.

• Registered voters can also vote early in-person at their county board of elections office. 34,252 people statewide have cast ballots this way as of October 12.

By comparison, approximately 741,000 registered voters had requested absentee ballots by this point during the 2014 midterm elections. More than 49,000 of those had been cast by this point. That’s roughly 7 percent of the total.

Registered voters have until until November 3 to request an absentee ballot. If you choose to mail it in, it must be postmarked by November 5 to be counted. You can also turn in the absentee ballot in-person to the county board of elections on November 6 until the polls close at 7:30 p.m.

For information about how to vote early, click here.


The Number of Registered Voters in Ohio is Near Its Historic Peak

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The high number of absentee ballot requests is likely due in part to increased political awareness. The current number of registered voters in Ohio is 8,025,232. That is the highest it has been since 2010.

The state has had more than 8 million registered voters just four times within the past 40 years. The previous times were in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In 2008, the year President Obama was elected to his firm term, total voter turnout was 69.97 percent. Nationwide, young voters showed up at the polls in record numbers. According to census data, 51.1 percent of eligible voters ages 18-29 cast ballots. 66 percent of them supported President Obama.

Skip ahead to 2010: That was a “red wave” year, when Republicans regained control of the House and picked up several seats in the Senate. Voter turnout always tends to be significantly lower for midterms compared to presidential elections, and 2010 was no exception. In Ohio, turnout dropped 20 percentage points from 2008, to just 49.22 percent.

The full chart, which compares voter registration versus voter turnout in Ohio, is embedded above. You can also view it here.


Early and Absentee Voting By County in Ohio

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Here is the county-by-county Ohio early voting listing, as of October 10. The first number for each county is the number of absentee ballots requested either by mail or in-person. The second number is the total number of ballots received by the Secretary of State’s office.

TOTAL

910,982

42,470

ADAMS COUNTY

1,573

127

ALLEN COUNTY

5,472

372

ASHLAND COUNTY

2,967

322

ASHTABULA COUNTY

6,048

246

ATHENS COUNTY

3,573

274

AUGLAIZE COUNTY

2,775

156

BELMONT COUNTY

8,517

339

BROWN COUNTY

2,287

156

BUTLER COUNTY

23,496

1,756

CARROLL COUNTY

1,986

80

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

2,354

195

CLARK COUNTY

7,555

615

CLERMONT COUNTY

16,557

590

CLINTON COUNTY

2,594

198

COLUMBIANA COUNTY

5,321

377

COSHOCTON COUNTY

2,629

163

CRAWFORD COUNTY

2,655

147

CUYAHOGA COUNTY

143,051

2,647

DARKE COUNTY

2,501

198

DEFIANCE COUNTY

1,964

239

DELAWARE COUNTY

18,536

845

ERIE COUNTY

5,678

331

FAIRFIELD COUNTY

13,649

634

FAYETTE COUNTY

1,200

145

FRANKLIN COUNTY

106,857

3,520

FULTON COUNTY

2,111

388

GALLIA COUNTY

1,575

87

GEAUGA COUNTY

10,026

665

GREENE COUNTY

13,239

942

GUERNSEY COUNTY

2,368

106

HAMILTON COUNTY

63,526

2,630

HANCOCK COUNTY

3,814

408

HARDIN COUNTY

1,427

121

HARRISON COUNTY

1,184

74

HENRY COUNTY

1,149

167

HIGHLAND COUNTY

2,167

278

HOCKING COUNTY

2,062

254

HOLMES COUNTY

1,542

102

HURON COUNTY

3,587

220

JACKSON COUNTY

1,958

181

JEFFERSON COUNTY

5,081

211

KNOX COUNTY

4,765

191

LAKE COUNTY

24,801

981

LAWRENCE COUNTY

4,370

137

LICKING COUNTY

15,440

723

LOGAN COUNTY

2,512

222

LORAIN COUNTY

25,550

1,206

LUCAS COUNTY

28,011

1,084

MADISON COUNTY

3,655

282

MAHONING COUNTY

20,090

670

MARION COUNTY

4,415

360

MEDINA COUNTY

15,059

977

MEIGS COUNTY

1,119

97

MERCER COUNTY

2,913

254

MIAMI COUNTY

7,303

446

MONROE COUNTY

1,184

190

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

36,662

976

MORGAN COUNTY

1,106

62

MORROW COUNTY

2,095

124

MUSKINGUM COUNTY

5,663

479

NOBLE COUNTY

1,018

100

OTTAWA COUNTY

3,371

251

PAULDING COUNTY

1,090

87

PERRY COUNTY

2,393

92

PICKAWAY COUNTY

3,779

485

PIKE COUNTY

1,819

133

PORTAGE COUNTY

11,207

505

PREBLE COUNTY

1,789

129

PUTNAM COUNTY

2,334

390

RICHLAND COUNTY

6,737

758

ROSS COUNTY

5,092

245

SANDUSKY COUNTY

2,960

251

SCIOTO COUNTY

3,684

293

SENECA COUNTY

2,600

148

SHELBY COUNTY

2,676

400

STARK COUNTY

28,092

805

SUMMIT COUNTY

44,684

1,046

TRUMBULL COUNTY

13,587

1,597

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY

7,052

368

UNION COUNTY

4,185

444

VAN WERT COUNTY

1,495

250

VINTON COUNTY

1,028

59

WARREN COUNTY

21,124

1,211

WASHINGTON COUNTY

4,667

359

WAYNE COUNTY

7,057

425

WILLIAMS COUNTY

1,827

155

WOOD COUNTY

7,245

432

WYANDOT COUNTY

1,066

85

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