ASHLAND — Ashland County’s early voting numbers in 2020 are still the highest on record — but this election cycle was a close second.
Ashland County Board of Elections data show 39.6% of registered voters applied for absentee ballots, roughly two points below 2020 numbers but significantly higher than previous presidential elections.
| Year | Early voting percentage |
| 2024 | 39.6% |
| 2020 | 41% |
| 2016 | 17% |
| 2012 | 13% |
Expect lines at the polls
Shannon Johnson, deputy director of the Ashland County Board of Elections, said those numbers weren’t particularly surprising, but she thought that number would have been higher this year.
“Early voting numbers are trending upwards,” she said. “But there’s still a lot of people who like to go out on Election Day.”
Johnson forecasted a 78% turnout in Ashland County. (Turnout reached 76.8% in 2020.)
She and other BOE staff have stressed to poll workers that they need to be ready by 6:30 a.m. on Election Day.
“Because there will be locations with lines,” she said, adding that polling locations at Mozelle Hall and the Eagles Club will be the big ones.
She said the American Legion location in Loudonville might also be busy because of the tax levy on the ballot there.
Records show a total of 34,756 registered voters in Ashland County. Of those, 11,006 are registered as Republican and 1,770 are Democrat. The other 21,980 are unaffiliated.
Of the registered voters, 13,791 applied for absentee ballots. As of Sunday, when absentee voting ended in Ohio, 13,362 of those ballots have been returned — leaving 429 ballots unreturned or unprocessed.
Early voters doing so by mail had until yesterday, Nov. 4, to postmark the evelopes. The ballots must be received by the board of elections office by Saturday, Nov. 9, Johnson said.
Issues at the polls?
The county has 156 poll workers. All 14 polling locations will be fully staffed, Johnson said.
Law enforcement defused tensions at three polling locations in March.
To avoid similar issues, Johnson said the office produced aerial views of all the locations with a 100-foot radius drawn on them. Those maps will be used by poll location managers should similar issues arise, she said.
Each location will also be equipped with a bucket posted at the 100-foot mark to denote the boundary. Each bucket will contain an American flag and a sign referencing state law that prohibits loitering or congregating near polling places.
Poll location managers have also been equipped with string and chalk to measure the 100-foot boundary should the need arise.
“Hopefully we won’t have the same issues that we had in the primary,” she said.