(Columbus) -- With Tuesday marking exactly three weeks to go before the May 3rd primary election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced that 71,296 absentee ballots have been requested by mail or in-person and that 11,935 votes have been cast statewide.
Data collected by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office from Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections after the first week of early voting show the following:
“Reports from the first week of early voting show exactly what we expected – our bipartisan election officials were ready and the election is running smoothly,” said LaRose.
“With three weeks to go until election day, voters are making their voice heard in a number of important races that will shape the future of our nation, our state, and even the community where they raise their family.”
Early voting continues in the weeks leading up to election day. For all your trusted election information, visit VoteOhio.gov.
According to Ohio's Poll Worker Tracker, as of this Wednesday, 31,433 Ohioans signed up to serve as a poll worker in the May 3rd primary election. The minimum number of poll workers needed statewide is 30,295. Twenty-four counties have already met the minimum number of poll workers needed.
In order to ensure a sufficient number of poll workers are available in case of an emergency, Secretary LaRose has set a goal of 34,846 poll workers statewide, or 115% of the minimum. Twenty-one counties have already met that goal.
Those counties are: Allen County, Athens County, Belmont County, Brown County, Clinton County, Fairfield County, Fayette County, Gallia County, Hocking County, Holmes County, Madison County, Meigs County, Mercer County, Morgan County, Noble County, Pickaway County, Portage County, Ross County, Shelby County, Union County, and Wood County.
“This is such a strong start in our effort to ensure every polling location has the workforce they need to serve the voters on May 3rd,” said LaRose. “Our poll worker tracker is doing its job – letting us know which counties are in good shape, and which need a little more support to get where they need to be. We’ll make sure that happens.”
Ohioans looking to engage in our democratic process by serving as a poll worker on May 3rd may sign up at VoteOhio.gov/DefendDemocracy.