More than 11,000 Butler County residents cast early in-person ballots in the first eight days of voting, more than double the 2022 midterm pace.
The surge, first reported by WLWT, puts Butler County at the front of a regional wave. Early in-person turnout has more than doubled across Butler, Clermont, Warren and Hamilton counties compared to the 2022 midterm, the station reported. The trend matters for West Chester and Liberty Township voters, who cast their early ballots at the same Board of Elections office in Hamilton.
Nicole Unzicker, director of the Butler County Board of Elections, told the Journal-News on Oct. 15 that the first day of early voting drew 1,371 voters. In 2022, that number was 589.
The first week, Tuesday, Oct. 6, through Friday, Oct. 9, brought more than 5,600 in-person voters to the office at 1802 Princeton Road in Hamilton. Daily counts ranged from 1,270 to 1,646. The first three days showed a 111% increase over the same stretch in 2022, and the opening day alone was up 133%, Unzicker said.
Unzicker pointed to several possible drivers: a change in the governor's office, statewide and countywide ballot issues, and contested local races.
Mail-in balloting is heading the other direction. The Board of Elections received 15,072 absentee ballot requests in the first week, down about 27% from the 20,751 issued during the same period in 2022, according to the Journal-News.
Aaron Asa, a Fairfield voter who previously voted by mail, told WLWT he switched to early in-person voting this cycle. His daughter Kayla, 18, cast her first ballot alongside him.
Deputy Director Eric Corbin told the Journal-News on Oct. 15 that staff were surprised they had avoided lines despite processing more than 1,200 voters per day. He credited an upgraded voter registration system and better-coordinated poll books.
"We've updated our voter registration system and our poll books work together really, really well, so we've been able to just streamline that process and make sure that voters get in and out," Corbin said in the Oct. 15 interview.
Unzicker told Fox 19 on Oct. 15 that Butler County's historical gubernatorial-election turnout sits around 50%. Based on the early pace, she said the county could possibly reach 55% to 60%, though she cautioned it was too early to forecast final numbers.
Statewide, 195,000 Ohioans voted in the first five days, nearly four times the 50,000 who voted during the same window in 2022, Fox 19 reported.
Voters heading to the Board of Elections should note that northbound Hampshire Drive between State Route 129 and Princeton Road is closed during early voting hours. Drivers traveling eastbound or westbound on Route 129 should take Exit 18 onto Bypass 4 and follow the detour to Princeton Road.
Early voting hours expand in the final week. The office will be open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, and Wednesday, Oct. 28, through Friday, Oct. 30, and until 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, which is also the deadline to request a mail-in ballot.
Weekend hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, the last day of early voting. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
