Early voting numbers for the 2023 General Election appear to be the lightning before the Election Day thunder. As election officials predicted, contentious issues like abortion rights and legalized marijuana have spurred on droves of voters, and independents are leading the way.
The numbers
As of Saturday, the second-to-last day of early voting in Ohio, 813,571 voters had cast their in-person or absentee ballot. This total does not include at least two days of early votes from Cuyahoga County, which has not reported early voting numbers to the secretary of state’s office since Thursday.
November’s early turnout is up more than 7% from August’s numbers. The special August election saw 757,653 voters weigh in on the state’s proposal to raise the threshold to amend Ohio’s constitution, which voters roundly rejected.
According to the Hamilton County Board of Elections (BOE), 93,573 voters cast early in-person and absentee ballots for the November election. Of those voters, 50,697 were independent, 28,304 were registered Democrats and 14,612 were registered Republicans.
In typical odd-year election turnout, only 39,294 Hamilton County voters cast early ballots in the 2021 General Election, but 2023 is not the typical sleepy odd-year election. The BOE told CityBeat in August that, because of Issues 1 and 2, the county is approaching the November 2023 election like an even-numbered year when voter turnout is high and protests are common.
What’s are we voting on?
This election cycle has one deeply contentious heavy-hitter issue after another:
- Issue 1: An amendment relating to abortion that would protect individual reproductive health care decisions.
- Issue 2: A law change to legalize and regulate Ohio’s recreational marijuana industry.
- Issue 22: The proposed sale of the city-owned Cincinnati Southern Railway (CSR) to Norfolk Southern.
- Issue 24: An amendment to Cincinnati’s charter to fund affordable housing by increasing the city income and withholding tax.
For a breakdown on these and other issues voters will see on Nov. 7, check out CityBeat’s 2023 election guide.
Related
The Election Guide: Voters to Decide on Abortion Rights, Recreational Marijuana and More
Where to vote, what to bring
If you live in Hamilton County, there’s a slight chance your polling location has moved since the last time you voted. These are the polling locations that have recently moved:
- Cincinnati 12E at the Corryville Library has moved to the Corryville Recreation Center at 2823 Eden Avenue.
- Cincinnati 8C at Playhouse in the Park has moved to the Cincinnati Park Board at 950 Eden Park Drive.
- Indian Hill A and B have moved from the Indian Hill Church to the Madeira-Indian Hill Fire Department at 6475 Drake Road.
- Springfield Township G and Z have moved from the Springfield Township Arts Connect Center to the Northminster Presbyterian Church at 703 Compton Road.
A controversial new law requires voters to present a valid ID to vote in person in Hamilton County. Acceptable forms of ID include:
- Ohio driver’s license
- State of Ohio ID card
- Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV
- U.S. passport or passport card
- U.S. 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.
The polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Absentee ballots are due by close of polls.
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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.
