Decision 2024: Live Ohio Election Day coverage

No afternoon lines after busy in morning in Columbus’ Driving Park

In Driving Park, John Stewart was impatient with how much of the election’s rhetoric has hinged on the cost of everyday consumer goods.

“This election is not about the price of eggs, gas, oil or anything. This election is about protecting the democracy,” he said. “So anybody who’s not for that, they have to go. They have to be voted out, otherwise we’re going to lose our democracy.”

With a bemused grin, Alex McDonald, who came out to vote with Stewart, said he agreed with him.

“Maybe not as vehemently,” he noted, “but yes, voting is always important — to exercise your right — and we did that.”

Inside, the polling location manager explained they saw big lines first thing in the morning but it subsided sometime around 11:00 am. By 2:00 pm, she added, they’d already surpassed the full day total of ballots cast in 2022, although she was quick to caveat that was a midterm instead of presidential election.

Busy morning, but smooth sailing since lunchtime in Columbus’ German Village

At the Schiller Park Rec Center in Columbus’ German Village, Luke Mohnasky was in and out in no time. Election officials at the polling location described long lines first thing in the morning but effectively no wait since about 11:30 am. Between absentee requests, early vote, and Election Day ballots the three precincts that vote here are closing in on 2/3 turnout.

Mohnasky voted in favor of Issue 1 and supported Vice President Kamala Harris for president but expressed some lingering misgivings about the candidate.

“I’m happy that I can vote for Harris-Walz,” he explained, “I feel like that’s resistance toward bigotry and homophobia and it’s for women’s rights.” But said he also felt “kind of ashamed” because he’s not as comfortable with Harris’ position on guns and foreign policy.

“And so like, there was not a way to get everything I wish,” he said.

Putting a button on the election season offers mixed feelings, too. On the one hand, “My social media has been rough,” Mohnasky said, but on the other he’s had several really interesting conversations with friends and co-workers.

“I feel like for whatever reason people my age have been willing to talk about it more,” he described.

“They’ve been pleasant conversations,” he added, “but I think I am ready. It’s tiring.”

Election protection teams present at polls, no major issues reported

The Ohio Voter Rights Coalition has been working since polls opened this morning to make sure voters have what they need and Election Day runs smoothly.

In a Tuesday press briefing, members of the coalition said the election protection hotline has already received thousands of calls since early voting began, and as of this morning, about 170 calls today.

Most of those calls were about things like polling locations and identification needed to vote, but some involved “isolated” technology issues at the polls, according to Collin Marozzi, deputy policy director at the ACLU of Ohio.

Those calls were handled and complaints directed to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and local boards of election, who resolved the issues quickly. Contingency plans – such as backup paper ballots and secure holding receptacles for ballots in the event scanners malfunction – have been established for months.

“Thankfully, the process is really working as designed,” Marozzi said.

High-population counties are seeing longer lines, as is typical in those counties for a presidential general election, and the day has seen high turnout across the state, according to Marozzi.

As the polling places take in all the voters throughout the day, volunteers with the coalition are present at the polls and at a command center to take calls and questions.

“We’re casting a wide net, we’re in all of the counties, we are getting all of the information in and trying to resolve it all as quickly as possible,” said Kayla Griffin, Ohio director for All Voting is Local.

The coalition is urging voters to take advantage of the rights in place to protect voting, including curbside voting for those with disabilities or mobility issues.

Curbside voting is available, and merely requires those wanting to vote to get the attention of a poll worker and request a curbside ballot. Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, recommended voters bring someone who can go inside and request the ballot.

“What’s most important is that if someone has a disability or mobility challenge, they see a line, we don’t want them to leave, and we also don’t want them to stand in that line if that’s going to cause them greater challenges,” Miller said. “They have the right to vote curbside and they just need to request that assistance.”

Anyone who comes to the polls close to closing time or right when polls close at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night has the right to vote, and should stay in line until they can cast their ballot.

“As long as they are in line when polls close, they will get to vote,” Miller said.

Miller, Griffin and Marozzi expressed confidence in Ohio’s electoral system to bring about proper certification of the state’s votes later this month.

So far, the election protection hotline has not received any complaints about uncounted votes or questions about the integrity of the process, and there have been no reports of voter intimidation.

“We are proud of the bipartisan operations that we have here in Ohio,” Miller said. “We trust that our election will run smoothly and that we’ll be able to trust those results. Our boards of elections are hard-working community servants.”

After early rush, steady voting at central Columbus precinct

Shortly before noon on Election Day, voters were trickling steadily in and out of the Milo-Grogan Community Center in Columbus, home to Precinct 01013A.

A poll worker there said that there was an early rush with sizable lines when the precinct opened at 6:30 a.m. He added that he expected a repeat as people start getting off of work in the afternoon.

Formerly an industrial community just to the northeast of downtown Columbus, Milo-Grogan is now a neighborhood in transition. There remain many working-class homes, but they’re being augmented by infill development and upscale apartments.

Long lines at some Ohio polling locations this morning

Long lines have been reported at a number of Ohio polling locations to start Tuesday’s Election Day. At about 8 a.m., poll workers at Gender Road Christian Church in Canal Winchester said the line was the longest they’d ever seen at that location.

Workers said they expected to see crowds during the “lunch rush” as well.

As voters waited their turn, poll workers announced the check in of a first-time voter several times, eliciting applause from the room.

At another precinct on the city of Columbus’ near-east side, at the Model Neighborhood Facility on Broad Street, workers reported their longest lines in the early pre-work hours, and then a steady stream of voters after that.

Important information on voting, voter ID, absentee ballots, and the nonpartisan voter hotline

On Election Day, you must cast your ballot in your precinct at your designated polling place between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

If you are in line by 7:30 p.m., even if the polls close, stay in line, you can still cast your ballot.

If you do not know where your designated precinct or polling place is located, please contact your county board of elections or click here to search for your polling place online.

Voter ID

All voters will need to bring an acceptable photo identification to the poll in order to verify their identity. Click here for a list of acceptable forms of identification.

Absentee ballots

Absentee ballots returned by mail must be post-marked by Nov. 4.

If not returned by mail, absentee ballots may be personally delivered to your county board of elections. They must be received by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5

Nonpartisan voter helpline

If you have any questions or concerns about voting, or poll worker challenges to your voting status and registration, a nonpartisan helpline has been created.

Call or text 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to speak with a trained Election Protection volunteer in English.

The hotline also comes in different languages

Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682)

Asian languages: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683)

Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)

Marking your ballot

Instructions for marking and casting your ballot are posted in each polling place. If you have any questions about how to mark or cast your ballot, or if you have incorrectly marked a ballot, immediately contact a precinct election official for instructions before you continue.

Voting assistance

A voter with a physical or mental disability, or a voter who is unable to read or write, may be assisted by anyone of the voter’s choice, except a candidate who appears on the ballot in that precinct, the voter’s employer or the employer’s agent, or an officer or agent of the voter’s union. A voter may also be assisted by two poll workers (each of a different political party). No one who assists a voter may disclose any information about how that person voted. For more information about access for voters with disabilities, please click here.