More than 2.53 million Ohioans voted early in the election, according to DATA from the Ohio Secretary of State as of Monday afternoon.

This is a combination of early in-person voting and returned absentee ballots totaling 2,532,260. Early voting ended on Sunday. There are more than 8 million registered voters in Ohio, meaning nearly a third of the state’s voters have already cast their ballots.

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More than 1.5 million Ohioans voted in person and 995,482 Ohioans returned their absentee ballots. At least 87 percent of Ohioans have returned their absentee ballots as of Monday. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Monday and received by Saturday. Absentee ballots are counted and tabulated first on election night.

Six percent of early voting was done by means of a ballot box.

The overwhelming majority of early voters are not affiliated with any party, accounting for more than 1.37 million votes. More Republicans (707,741) voted earlier than Democrats (447,656). More than 5.7 million registered Ohio voters are unaffiliated as of May 10, according to Ohio Secretary of State.

Early voters skewed older. Just over a million voters 65 and over voted either absentee or early in person.

Ohio has 5 percent more new 18- and 19-year-old voters registered to vote this year compared to 2020, according to Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

The state Senate race between Republican Bernie Moreno and incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown is the second-best Senate seat in the country where young people can have a major influence on election outcomes, according to CIRCLE. Index of Electoral Significance for Youth.

In the House, Ohio’s 13th Congressional District between incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes and Republican Kevin Coughlin is the nation’s ninth House race. where young people can have a major influence on election results, according to CIRCLE.

Cuyahoga County had the highest number of absentee ballots requested (178,155) and returned (156,233), giving it an 88 percent return rate.

Belmont County has the highest absentee ballot return rate at 92 percent. Seven counties had an absentee ballot return rate of 91 percent: Gallia, Huron, Coshocton, Brown, Carroll, Muskingum and Jefferson. Delaware County had the lowest ballot return rate at 82 percent.

Franklin County had the most in-person ballots with 127,124, followed by Hamilton County with 95,976 and Cuyahoga County with 62,572.

This year’s early in-person and absentee voting numbers are down compared to the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic, where nearly 2.2 million Ohioans voted absent and more than 1.3 million Ohio residents voted early in person, accordingly Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

Voters going to the polls on Tuesday must have a photo ID to vote in person. This could be a valid Ohio driver’s license, US passport, military ID, Ohio ID card, Ohio BMV temporary identification form, Ohio National Guard ID card, or ID card from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

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