Christopher Dacanay
EARLY BIRDS — Voters filled out in-person absentee ballots at the Jefferson County Board of Elections office Wednesday.
STEUBENVILLE — A new data dashboard published by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office is offering insight into early and absentee voting statistics as the Nov. 5 general election approaches.
Powered by Office of Data Analytics and Archives, the statewide and early voting data dashboard has been made accessible to the public “in an effort to continue providing voters with unprecedented levels of transparency,” according to the office’s website.
The online database offers Ohioans “a more detailed look at daily absentee and early voting” for the upcoming general election. Displaying statewide and county-level data, the dashboard is updated daily by all of Ohio’s 88 county boards of election, which are required to submit early voting and absentee data to the secretary of state.
According to the site, 1,123,182 absentee by-mail ballots had been requested across the state as of noon on Friday. Of those, 634,522 had been returned, resulting in a 56 percent overall ballot return rate.
Carroll County was leading all 88 counties with a 72 percent ballot return rate, having sent 2,078 ballots and received 1,503. Jefferson County was second with a 71 percent ballot return rate — 5,789 ballots sent and 4,122 ballots returned.
Among other area counties, Belmont ranked 11th with a 68 percent ballot return rate, Harrison ranked 19th with a 66 percent return rate and Columbiana ranked 57th with a 61 percent return rate.
The database counted 8,159,880 registered voters in the state, including 18,326 voters in Carroll County, 45,326 in Jefferson County and 44,627 in Belmont County.
In Jefferson County, 4,457 in-person ballots had been submitted as of Friday, and 5,789 absentee by-mail ballots had been requested and 4,122 had been returned, leaving 1,667 unreturned. That means roughly 18.76 percent of Jefferson County voters had already voted.
Early voter demographics in Jefferson County were largely reflective of state demographics. The least number of ballots requested and ballots returned came from the 18-24 age group. Those numbers appear to rise exponentially, with the most ballots being requested and returned by the 65-plus age group.
By party, most ballots requested and returned across Ohio were from unaffiliated voters. Republicans took second for ballot requests and returns in Jefferson County, outpacing Democrats by roughly 1,000 ballots in both categories.
Nearly all Jefferson County ballots were requested and returned from Ohio, though 147 were requested and 50 were returned from out of state. Six in Jefferson were requested from out of the country, though none had yet been returned.
Bob Gale, director of the Jefferson County Board of Elections, said Thursday that early voting for the Nov. 5 election has been “on par” with that for the 2020 general election, which saw “very huge early voting” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board has seen roughly 60 percent of the mail-in voting experinced during the 2020 election, Gale said, but in-person early voting has been livelier, as was expected. Taking 2020 out of the equation, this election has “by far outpaced” any other mail-in season in the county, he added.
How a board of elections processes its ballot requests can affect the return rate, Gale said, noting that Jefferson County typically has a 96 percent return rate.
As for Jefferson County’s relatively high return rate, Gale noted that the board mailed out more than 5,000 ballots on Oct. 8, the first day of early voting. Those getting out so quickly may account for the high number of returns.
“No one has to wait for their ballot to be mailed,” Gale said. “We receive the request, it goes out that day. We’ve been working closely with the post office to keep these all local as much as possible. However, those in the southern part of the county, their mail has to go through Wheeling, so there’s a slight delay from that.”
Gale said absentee ballots should be completed and mailed or turned in “as soon as possible.” There is no drop box, so voters must bring their ballots inside the board of elections office on the first floor of the Jefferson County Tower Building, 500 Market St., Steubenville. Anyone returning a ballot for a family member must fill out a confirmation form at the office.
Additionally, Gale noted the board’s office will be open for in-person absentee voting during the final two weekends before the election — Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 3 is the last day to early vote. Voters must go to their polling locations on election day, as there will be no voting at the board of elections office.
A full schedule of in-person absentee voting times can be found at the Jefferson County Board of Elections website.
Earlier in the week, several individuals were voting early at the board’s office.
Jennifer Fisher was voting in Ohio for the first time since she moved to Steubenville from Cecil Township, Pa. The chance of meeting record crowds or an unexpected occurrence on election day motivated her to vote early.
“I love (early voting),” she said. “I think it’s very convenient. I feel like more people are going to be voting since this is an option.”
Fisher and her boyfriend, Chad Davis, will both be working on election day, which would have made scheduling a time to vote difficult. Davis added that it’s “nice to get it out of the way.”
Leslie Smith of Bloomingdale said voting is too important to wait until the last day, when there’s a risk of an interruption spoiling plans.
Having recently underwent surgery, Smith said voting early saves her from having to stand in line on Nov. 5. She said she and her husband, Greg Smith, have been voting early for the last several elections.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox