MANSFIELD — About two-thirds of Richland County’s 78,000 registered voters are expected to participate in the November general election.
Richland County Board of Elections Director Matt Finfgeld said Monday he anticipates 65 to 70 percent of the county voters will have cast ballots by the time polls close on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
He said 19,248 voters had already cast ballots by the time early voting ended Sunday afternoon, either in person or via absentee ballot. That represents an increase of 30 percent over 2022.
Of those, 14,961 voters visited the Board of Elections office on West Longview Avenue during the month-long early voting process. Finfgeld said 4,467 absentee ballots were returned, either by mail or the drop box at the board office.
Finfgeld said another 530 absentee ballots were outstanding and will be counted as long as they reach the board office by the time voting ends Tuesday evening.
In 2022, Finfgeld said, there were 14,800 early votes in the most recent gubernatorial election. There were 14,700 early votes in 2018, evenly divided between in person and absentee ballots, he said.
He said competitive statewide races had brought out more voters, as well as local tax issues and contested local contests.
“Early voting gains in popularity each election cycle,” he said.
He recommended voters heading to their polling places on Tuesday bring appropriate identification and perhaps a sample ballot available from the Board of Elections website.
“They could also thank their poll workers. They are the reason people can vote so close to their homes on Election Day,” Finfgeld said.
It was announced in September that voters in four Richland County precincts will head to new polling places for the Nov. 3 general election.
According to Finfgeld and Deputy Director Jane Zimmermann, the Richland County Board of Elections permanently retired four former voting sites: Bloominggrove Township Hall, Butler Township Hall, Shiloh Senior Center and Franklin Township Fire Station.
Three of the precincts are consolidating into the Buckeye Community Center in Shiloh and the fourth will move from a fire station into a church.
New voting sites for the affected precincts are:
- BLMG Precinct: Moving from Bloominggrove Township Hall to the Buckeye Community Center, 79 Noble Road W., Shiloh.
- BUTLER Precinct: Moving from Butler Township Hall to the Buckeye Community Center, 79 Noble Road W., Shiloh.
- CASS Precinct: Moving from the Shiloh Senior Center to the Buckeye Community Center, 79 Noble Road W., Shiloh.
- FRANKLIN Precinct: Moving from the Franklin Township Fire Station to Shenandoah Christian Church, 5642 Ohio 13 N., Shiloh.
“Anytime we can consolidate polling locations is better for everyone based on the number of workers needed and equipment availability and flexibility. Both of these new locations also have more accessibility,” Finfgeld said in September.
All county polling locations open Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.
