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Ohio voter guide: What to know about the 2024 election

WOSU 89.7 NPR News | By Jared Clayton Brown
Published February 9, 2024 at 5:11 PM EST
Updated October 16, 2024 at 10:32 AM EDT
Ohio Voter Guide

Election Day is Nov. 5, 2024. Polls open in Ohio at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. The U.S. presidential race, all 15 Ohio congressional seats and many other state races will be on the ballot.

Below, WOSU put together a guide to help you navigate Ohio’s 2024 election, including information on how to vote, and a rundown of what you can expect on your ballot.

Here are some key dates to know for the fall election:

  • Military & Overseas Absentee Voting: Begins Sept. 20
  • General election voter registration deadline: Oct. 7, 2024
  • Early voting and mail-in voting begins: Oct. 8, 2024
  • Deadline to request absentee ballot: Oct. 29, 2024
  • Early voting ends: Nov. 3, 2024
  • Mail-in voting ends: Nov. 4, 2024 (Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked by this date.)
  • Submitting absentee ballots in person ends: Nov. 5, 2024 (Absentee ballots can be personally delivered to your county board of elections. They must be received by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m.)
  • General election: Nov. 5, 2024 (Polls open 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.)

Voter Information

Voters line up at the Franklin County Board of Elections on Morse Road to vote early for the Aug. 8, 2023 special election.
Credit John Minchillo / Associated Press
/
WOSU
The early voting center at the Franklin County Board of Elections in Columbus.

Are You Registered To Vote?

The deadline to register is Oct. 7.

Before requesting an absentee ballot or vote in-person, be sure your voter registration is active and up-to-date. Check your voter registration on the Ohio Secretary of State's website.

In-Person Voting

Ohio has four weeks of early voting, beginning October 8. The schedule for early voting is set by the Secretary of State, and in every county but Lucas, Miami and Summit, early voting happens at the county board elections.

Here are the dates and times for early in-person voting:

  • Oct. 8-11: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Oct. 14-18: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Oct. 21-25: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
  • Oct. 26: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • Oct. 27: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Oct. 28: 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  • Oct. 29: 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
  • Oct. 30 - Nov. 1: 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 2: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
  • Nov. 3: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Voting on Election Day will happen at polling locations based on where voters live. It’s possible some polling locations could move from where you're accustomed. The Secretary of State’s Office has a helpful tool for finding your correct polling location.

Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. As long as you are already in line before 7:30 p.m., Ohio law requires you to be allowed to vote, so be sure to remain in line.

Do I Need Voter ID?

The following are all the types of valid photo identification:

  • Ohio driver's license
  • State of Ohio ID card
  • Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV
  • A US passport
  • A US passport card
  • US military ID card
  • Ohio National Guard ID card
  • US Department of Veterans Affairs ID card

All photo IDs must have the following:

  • An expiration date that has not passed
  • A photograph of the voter
  • The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the Poll List or in the Poll Book

Check the entire list of acceptable IDs here.

If you do not bring an acceptable form of ID, or if your eligibility is in question because you moved or changed your name, but didn't update your registration, you can still vote using a provisional ballot. 

Voting provisionally simply means that election officials need to double-check your eligibility. To do so, you must visit the Board of Elections within four days after Election Day to provide that identification, so your vote can be counted in the final election totals. Election officials are also required to attempt to contact voters by mail, phone or email to resolve any issues with their ballots.

Absentee Voting

Millions of Ohioans choose to cast their votes via absentee ballots. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 29.

You can get an absentee ballot in the following ways:

  1. Go online and print your own absentee ballot request form.
  2. Fill out the required information by hand on a blank sheet of paper.
  3. Call your local board of elections and ask them to send you a form.
  4. If you're one of eight million Ohioans already registered to vote, you may have received an absentee ballot request form in the mail from the Ohio Secretary of State's Office.

Whichever method you choose, you have to fill out and send the completed request form to your local board of elections, then wait for the board to mail back a ballot.

Fill that ballot out and mail it back to your county board of elections. You can track the status of your application and ballot here.

Make sure to fill out every field on the application. Common errors on absentee ballot requests include:

  • Failing to fill out your date-of-birth,
  • Writing your nickname instead of your full legal name,
  • Failing to sign and date the application.

If you're concerned about filling out your absentee ballot application correctly, put down your phone number or email address on the form. That way, if the county board of elections finds any problem with your application, they're required to contact you through one of those methods in order to fix the issue.

To vote by mail, your ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 4, which is the day before the election. You also must attach your own postage.

Please note: You should mail your ballot as soon as possible. That back-and-forth could mean four trips through the mail, and the U.S. Postal Service estimates it may take between 2-5 days to deliver each way. Voting rights groups suggest mailing your ballot at least a week before Election Day.

Your ballots can be received up to 10 days after Election Day to be counted.

Ballot Drop Boxes

If you're still hanging on to an absentee ballot that you haven't mailed in, and you don't want to vote in-person, this is the option you should take.

Instead of sending your absentee ballot through the mail, you can drop off your ballot in person at your county board of elections anytime before 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, which is Election Day.

Voters can’t assist other voters by putting their ballots into a secure drop box. That order from Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose has been upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court. The decision means people assisting voters, usually family members of disabled or elderly Ohioans, will have to sign paperwork at boards of elections offices saying they’re authorized to drop off ballots.

Each of Ohio's 88 election boards has a secure drop box for turning in ballots and ballot requests. Find the location of your board of elections here.

What If I Change My Mind About Voting Absentee?

Voting rights groups and election officials are adamant: Voting absentee by mail is safe and secure, especially if you fill out and mail your ballot as soon as you get it. But it's possible that, even after requesting your absentee ballot, you may want to vote in-person after all.

The Ohio Secretary of State's office says that Ohioans who request absentee ballots through the mail can choose instead to vote early at your in-person voting site, as long as you didn't already mail your ballot back. Either way, voting early will mean your vote is among the first counted on Election Night.

However, if you've requested an absentee ballot and then show up to vote in-person on Election Day, you will be required to vote provisionally. Your ballot will eventually be counted, but it won't be included in the Election Night totals.

What Can I Expect On Election Night?

On Election Night, WOSU and NPR do not "call" races, but rather rely on vote counting and race calls provided by the Associated Press. You can read about how NPR has previously reported election results.

When results start coming in on Nov. 5, the first numbers you'll see will be from early and absentee ballots. Under Ohio law, unlike some neighboring states, county election boards can start processing early votes before Election Day.

As often happens, Democrats have been voting early in larger numbers than Republicans, who are more likely to vote on Election Day. That means those initial numbers will likely trend Democratic, before experiencing a "red shift" as election boards report results from that day.

The Ohio Secretary of State's Office will publicly display the number of outstanding absentee and provisional ballots, which could affect the outcome of a race.

What Am I Voting On?

Below is a rundown of some of the major races you'll see on Ohio's ballot this November, from the presidential race on down. Find your sample ballot here.

U.S. President

At the top of the ticket is the U.S. presidential race between former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee, current Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris became the after President Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek re-election following a poor performance in a June debate against Trump, which led to numerous calls among Democrats for Biden to not seek re-election.

Trump's running mate for vice president is Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for Vice President.

U.S. Senate

Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown will face Republican challenger Bernie Moreno in the race for U.S. Senate.

U.S. House

The presidency isn't the only federal-level election happening this year. All 15 of Ohio's congressional seats are also up for grabs in 2024.

Ohio voters approved a plan to redraw the state's Congressional map, though the new re-districting maps have not yet been established. The map created by the Ohio Redistricting Commission was ruled unconstitutional last year by the state's Supreme Court, but is being used anyway.

Here's a rundown of the candidates in each of Ohio's districts.

1st District

2nd District

3rd District

4th District

5th District

6th District

7th District

8th District

9th District

10th District

11th District

12th District

13th District

14th District

15th District

Ohio Supreme Court

The terms of three Ohio Supreme Court justices are set to expire on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1.

Those three seats are up for partisan election on Nov. 5.

There are a total of seven justices serving on Ohio's Supreme Court.

Three justices are running for re-election in two seats, with a third seat being contested in partisan elections.

Democrat Justice Michael P. Donnelly is running against Republican Megan E. Shanahan.

Justices Melody Stewart, a Democrat, and Joseph Deters, a Republican, will compete against one another in the November election.

Republican Justice Joseph Deters has opted to run for a full-term seat instead of a partial term for the seat he was appointed to by Gov. Mike DeWine on Jan. 7, 2023. Deters' seat is open for a contested race between Lisa Forbes, a Democrat, and Dan Hawkins, a Republican. As of May 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court has a 4–3 Republican majority.

Ohio General Assembly

Several seats in the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate are also on the ballot this year. Both chambers are currently ruled by Republican supermajorities.

While there are too many contests to list here, WOSU will provide results for all state legislature races on Election Day.

Election 2024 Coverage

Tags
Politics & Government 2024 ElectionDonald TrumpJD VanceKamala HarrisTim Walzpolls
Jared Clayton Brown
Jared Clayton Brown joined the WOSU News team in November 2022. He spent seven years working for the Fox and NBC affiliate stations in Louisville and three years with the CBS affiliate station in Columbus.
See stories by Jared Clayton Brown