Ohio Shatters Early Voting Record In 2020 General Election

COLUMBUS, OH — Spurred by political rancor and the dangers of the coronavirus, early voting turnout in Ohio shattered nearly every record on the book.

On Monday, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced that 3.4 million Ohioans have already voted in the Nov. 3 general election. Prior to 2020, Ohio had never surpassed 2 million early votes cast in one election cycle.

With 3.4 million votes cast, Ohio has already hit 60 percent of the total number of votes cast in 2016. Voters were at least partially motivated by the campaigns of President Donald Trump and his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Lines at some boards of election, where early voting could take place in-person, stretched for blocks.

However, there are already early signs of trouble brewing in tabulating all the early votes. Ohio's most populous county, Franklin, reported issues with its scanning and tabulation technology, prompting poll workers to shift to a pen-and-paper tabulation method. By 2 p.m. Monday, there were 347,877 early votes cast in Franklin County, according to data from LaRose's office.

“Ohioans have refused to listen to the fear mongers who have spent months trying to convince them that it’s hard to vote – they’re proving it’s easy with every record broken,” LaRose said. “As ballots mailed on time continue to come in over the next ten days, Ohioans should rest assured that each legally cast ballot will be counted and their voice will be heard.”

While LaRose trumpeted the success of early voting in Ohio, he also spent months prior to Nov. 3 in a contentious battle about easing access to early voting. LaRose attempted to limit the number of drop boxes available in each Ohio county, a move fought by Democrats and struck down by a federal judge in early October.