COLUMBUS – More than 275,000 absentee ballots have been sent to Ohio voters since overseas early voting began on June 23, marking a significant increase in voter activity from the August statewide primary election of 2022. With four days remaining until the August 8 special election, 578,490 Ohioans have already voted.
Ohio is a leader in early voting options, including early in-person voting, absentee voting, and returning an absentee ballot to a drop box or a county board official at one of our county boards of elections.
Earlry and Absentee Voting Friday, July 28 through Thursday, August 3
To follow daily updates to early vote totals and for county by county data, click here.
Since voting began on June 23 (including UOCAVA voting):
151,977 absentee ballots have been returned by mail (including UOCAVA ballots)
9,997 ballots have been hand delivered to the boards of elections
26,185 ballots have been placed in secure drop boxes at Ohio's county boards
390,331 votes have been cast by in-person early voters
Ohio voters will find one proposed constitutional amendment on their August 8 ballot: State Issue 1-- a constitutional amendment to elevate the standards to qualify for initiated constitutional amendments and pass amendments to Ohio’s constitution. A sample of the ballot language on State Issue 1 can be foundhere. Voters can check early voting days and hourshere.
This election season, Ohio voters will enjoy nearly 200 hours of early voting in the time leading up to the August special election. Ohio is one of 18 states that allows voting on a Saturday and one of just six states that allows early voting on a Sunday. Ohio’s early voting period is 21% longer than the national average.
Of the 42 states that run a traditional absentee voting system, a comprehensive review by the Brookings Institute determined no state does it better than Ohio. SOURCE: www.brookings.edu/research/voting-by-mail-in-a-pandemic-a-state-by-state-scorecard/.
Absentee voting in Ohio is time-tested and has strong security checks in place. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot was August 1.
Ohioans have utilized absentee voting for two decades, and that has allowed Ohio to put in place the safeguards necessary to make absentee voting secure against fraud. For those voters who chose absentee voting this election, they can feel confident in the process:
Voter identification and signature are checked TWICE during the process
Voter list maintenance allows for accurate voter rolls
Ballot harvesting is against the law in Ohio
Voters are able to track their ballot on VoteOhio.gov/Track
Voters with an outstanding absentee ballot should not delay on returning it. Ballots must be postmarked by August 7 and received by the county board by August 12. Voters may hand deliver completed absentee ballots to their county board on Election Day on August 8 prior to the polls closing.
These requirements and processes, as well as strict laws against voter fraud, have made absentee voting secure in Ohio and instances of voter fraud exceedingly rare. Learn more about how Ohio keeps our elections secure by visiting ElectionSecurity.Ohio.gov.
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