COLUMBUS – Two weeks before Election Day, more than twice as many Ohioans had cast their early ballots as at the same time time four years ago, according to the state’s top elections official.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose says 1.1 million Ohioans have already cast their votes in the Nov. 3 general election, 119% more than two weeks before the 2016 election.
Nearly triple the number of Ohioans are voting early in-person compared to the same time in 2016, LaRose said.
More to than 2.7 million Ohioans – or more than 1 out of 3 registered voters in the state — have requested the opportunity to vote early, he said.
Meanwhile, a group of Democratic state lawmakers are taking the Republican LaRose to task for a directive he issued Friday moving the deadline for county boards of elections finish counting votes from Nov. 24 to Nov. 18.
The legislators, led by Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), chair of the House Democratic Caucus COVID-19 Elections Working Group, say voters in Franklin County receiving the wrong ballots and needing replacements, and delays caused by a vendor responsible for the printing and mailing of 2.4 million ballots across Ohio and Pennsylvania mean many ballots will stream into board offices during the 10-day period when they can be accepted.
The section of state law the lawmakers cited says “the secretary of state may specify an earlier date upon which the canvass of election returns shall be deemed final: but also says “it shall continue the canvass daily until it is completed and the results of the voting in that election in each of the precincts are determined.”
The law states that the canvass may not begin before the 11th day after the election, which would be Nov. 14, or after the 15th day — Nov. 18 — and can finish no later than the 21st day , which is Nov. 24.
The vendor responsible for the delayed ballots in Ohio and Pennsylvania says it is all caught up.
Cleveland-based Midwest Direct said in a statement Tuesday that extra staff, expanded hours and added equipment were required to meet the “staggering volume of mail-in ballot requests for this election.”
Unprecedented demand combined with equipment challenges at the company led to delays that left election officials and voters in both states scrambling.
CEO Richard Gebbie said Midwest processed and mailed 1 million requested mail-in ballots and 1.4 million Election Day ballots over the past 14 days.