Photo: The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, by Alexander Smith, via Wikimedia Commons.

Ohio voters are showing up in person in big numbers this fall — and requesting far fewer mail ballots than they did four years ago.

As of Oct. 23, the Ohio Secretary of State’s Election Dashboard counted 1,240,470 early-voting ballots issued statewide, with 922,793 returned — about 74%, or 11.2% of Ohio’s roughly 8.2 million registered voters. Of those returned, 527,760 were cast in person and 395,033 by mail. Mail ballot requests are down about 26–28% compared with the same point in 2022, while early in-person voting is running roughly double its 2022 pace in counties like Franklin County, where officials expect turnout to top recent midterms.

Early in-person voting is open now at county boards of elections, including the Lucas County Board of Elections. Hours this week: Oct. 27, 7:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Oct. 28–30, 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; Oct. 31, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; Nov. 1, 1–5 p.m. Early in-person voting ends Nov. 1.

Mail ballots must ARRIVE by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3 — Ohio no longer counts ballots that arrive after Election Day even if postmarked on time.

Senate Bill 293 ended the four-day grace period for mail ballots arriving after Election Day.

Sources: The Columbus Dispatch, “How many have voted early in Ohio before Election Day? See the numbers”; The Columbus Dispatch, “Franklin County early voting numbers on track to top recent midterms”.