Early voting has concluded across Ohio, and turnout has blown past figures for past midterms.
Ohioans can vote early by returning absentee ballots in the mail or by showing up at their county’s designated early voting site. In Franklin County, more than 150,000 voters took that opportunity—surpassing the 2014 midterm mark by about 50,000 votes.
The biggest difference has been early in-person voting. While the number of mail-in ballots has grown modestly, in-person votes are nearly five times what they were four years ago.
Still, compared with a presidential election, early voting is down. In 2016, more than 225,000 ballots were cast before Election Day.
The county as a whole leans left, and registered Democrats are leading Republicans in early voting. But unaffiliated voters make up the largest share of ballots cast.
