CLEVELAND, Ohio – With one week until Election Day 2024, more than 1.8 million Ohioans have cast their ballots.

Data from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office shows that 743,000 of the 1.1 million absentee ballots requested by Ohio voters had already been returned as of Tuesday morning.

About 942,000 people have voted early in person at the local board of elections since early voting began on October 8.

So far, older voters who are not affiliated with a political party have voted the most. Around 1.4 million absence requests came from people aged 55 and over. That same age group cast about 1.2 million absentee ballots or early votes in person.

Cuyahoga County sent out the most mail-in ballots of any county in the state. So far, it has sent about 175,000 ballots to voters who requested them and about 113,000 — or 65 percent — have been returned. About 42,000 more people voted early in person in the county.

2024 election: An Ohio Guide to the November Elections

Tuesday is the last day Ohioans can request absentee ballots to vote in the 2024 election.

Franklin County, which has slightly more registered voters than Cuyahoga, sent out about 134,000 ballots and received about 82,000, or about 61 percent, plus another 86,000 in-person early votes. Hamilton County, the state’s third-largest county, sent out 79,000 ballots and received 51,000, with an additional 63,000 voters voting early in person.

Other Northeast Ohio counties include:

Geauga: 13,519 ballots sent, 9,274 returned; 9,553 early votes in person

Lake: 29,046 ballots sent, 20,573 returned; 21,808 early votes in person

Lorain: 34,495 ballots sent, 23,544 returned; 29,155 early votes in person

Medina: 20,685 ballots sent, 14,238 returned; 26,072 early votes in person

Portage: 16,485 ballots sent, 11,723 returned; 12,634 early votes in person

So far, more Republicans have voted than Democrats in Ohio. Among supporters, about 515,000 Republicans requested to vote or voted in person, as did 349,000 Democrats. And about 813,000 came from unaffiliated voters.

In the past, former President Donald Trump has questioned the integrity of mail-in voting. Now his campaign is urging supporters to vote early.

“ABSENTATE VOTING, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING ARE ALL GOOD OPTIONS. REPUBLICANS NEED TO MAKE A PLAN, REGISTER AND VOTE!” hPublished on Truth Social in April.

As we get closer to Election Day, early voting times change. Early voting ends Sunday, so local election boards won’t be open Monday — the day before Election Day — to vote.

Anyone who casts a ballot for someone else must sign a formusually within the elections board. In Cuyahoga County, staff members will be posted to drop boxes to manage forms.

Ohio requires in-person voters to have some form of photo identification in order to vote. This includes an Ohio driver’s license, Ohio ID card, U.S. passport or passport card, U.S. military ID, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID or an Ohio National Guard ID.

Changes to Ohio’s voter ID law in 2023 have increasingly tripped up voters, with thousands of voters were turned away because they did not present acceptable identification.

In-person early voting will run through November 3, but times change on weekends and as we get closer to Election Day. There will be no in-person early voting on the Monday before Election Day. The remaining hours for in-person early voting are as follows:

October 29: 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

October 30 – November 1: 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

November 2: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

November 3: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.