Between four weeks of early and mail-in voting, more than 2.5 million Ohio voters had cast ballots in the November election as of Sunday.
That figure combined just under 1.54 million residents who had gone to early voting centers with another around 995,500 who had returned their absentee ballots, contributing to a return rate of 87%, according to data from Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office.
Early voting ended Sunday at 5 p.m. in Ohio so county boards of elections could prepare for Tuesday. During the day, in the state’s urban cores, voters were met with long lines and traffic snarls at the county’s single early voting centers.
Aaron Sellers, Franklin County Board of Elections spokesperson, said the earliest voters began queueing outside three hours before the board let them in at 1 p.m. Some of the last didn't leave until well after 7 p.m. It took Adam Cunningham of Franklinton more than three hours.
“There was too much going on the day of (the election),” Cunningham said in an interview. “Usually I vote at my local polling station, but today was the last day of early. I kind of procrastinated to get in, so I figured I'd come out, knock it out today.”
Along the snaking line Cunningham waited in, canvassers fought for attention, knowing it was their last chance to change a voter’s mind.
This is the first presidential election cycle Sylvie Strange is eligible to vote in. Strange, an Ohio State University student from Utah, said she's excited for the possibility of a woman serving as president.
“I'm really worried about abortion access,” Strange said in an interview. “I know this is the election for that. Also, Issue 1 brought me out, gerrymandering. I want to put more power to the people.”
Last day of early voting in Ohio and the line at the Franklin County Board of Elections is insane - it’s backed around itself multiple times. I have been covering early voting since Ohio started it in 2005 and I’ve never seen anything close to this pic.twitter.com/gdqfSypl5n
— Karen Kasler (@karenkasler) November 3, 2024
By 3 p.m., the county was likely to cross 125,000 early voters total between Oct. 8 and Nov. 3, Sellers said—well over the 117,000 early voters it saw in 2020.
Registered Ohioans can vote at their polling locations Tuesday between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. To find a polling location, head here.
This story was updated at 2 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2024.
