Local

93,166 Franklin County voters cast early ballots as Ohio heads to Election Day

Columbus, Ohio • November 2, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: voters walking toward a county elections building on a sunny autumn morning in Columbus, Ohio

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

Early in-person voting for Ohio's November 3 general election ended Sunday, November 1, at 5 p.m., and Franklin County closed its early-vote period with 93,166 ballots cast at the county's Early Vote Center on Morse Road in Columbus — about twice the county's 2022 midterm early-vote total, according to Board of Elections Director Antone White.

White described the early-voting period as "very busy and very exciting," and said the 93,166 in-person early voters were roughly double the number from the 2022 midterms. The county also reported that 82,928 voters had requested an absentee mail ballot, and 70,729 of those ballots had been returned as of Sunday, November 1.

There is no early voting on Monday, November 2. On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, voters casting a regular in-person ballot must go to their assigned neighborhood polling location — not to the Board of Elections building at 1700 Morse Road, which will not serve as an Election Day polling location for regular in-person voting.

Election Day polls across Ohio open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m., and voters standing in line at 7:30 p.m. will still be permitted to vote, according to the Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State's schedule. Absentee ballots must reach the voter's county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

Franklin County voters should double-check their assigned polling place before heading out, even if they have voted at the same location in past elections: the board said polling-location change notifications were sent earlier this month to 54,645 registered voters whose assigned location changed for the November 3 election. Voters can check their assignment through the board's MyRegistration tool at vote.franklincountyohio.gov or by calling 614-525-3100.

Voters casting a ballot in person must bring an acceptable, unexpired photo ID, such as an Ohio driver's license or state identification card, a U.S. passport or passport card, or a U.S. military, Ohio National Guard or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs identification card.

Sources: New Americans Magazine (Nov. 1, 2026), reporting Franklin County Board of Elections Director Antone White's end-of-voting statement and county figures; The Columbus Dispatch (Oct. 27, 2026), on Ohio's early-voting schedule and Election Day hours; Ohio Secretary of State early-voting calendar, via county board schedules, confirming early voting ended November 1 at 5 p.m. and Election Day polls run 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on November 3.