WEST UNION — Early voting is under way in Adams County, where residents are casting ballots ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election at the Adams County Board of Elections office at 923 Sunrise Ave., Room 101, in West Union. The office, led by Director Stephanie E. Lewis and Deputy Director Emilee McCann, is the county’s single early-voting location, and voters from Peebles, Manchester, Winchester, Seaman and every township in between vote early there — not at their usual precincts, which open only on Election Day.
Adams County voters will help decide Ohio’s statewide races this fall, including governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court and a U.S. Senate seat, alongside their congressional and state legislative races and the county offices and local questions filed with the board by the Aug. 5 deadline. Because ballots differ by precinct and township, the board urges every voter to pull up their own sample ballot through the Ohio Secretary of State’s voter lookup before heading out, so there are no surprises at the check-in table.
The statewide early-voting schedule now moves into its busiest stretch. Boards are open Monday through Friday, Oct. 19-23, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., then Saturday, Oct. 24, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hours stretch in the final week: Monday, Oct. 26, and Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28-30, run 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, runs 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and the last early session is Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Voters who prefer to vote by mail face a hard deadline. Absentee ballot applications must reach the board by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and under Ohio law changes signed last year, a voted absentee ballot must be received by the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to count — a postmark no longer saves a late ballot, with a limited exception for military and overseas voters. Voters can also hand-deliver a ballot to the board office or its drop box in West Union.
Anyone voting in person, early or on Election Day, must present a valid, unexpired photo ID. Polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3, are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters who are in line when a voting session ends are still allowed to cast a ballot. The board can be reached at (937) 544-2633 for questions about registration status, precinct assignments and absentee requests.
For a rural county where some voters drive a half hour or more to West Union, election officials say the extended final-week hours are the best chance to avoid Election Day lines and bad-weather gambles. Planning which day to vote — and checking a sample ballot first — takes only a few minutes and can save a second trip.
Adams County is the first stop in NewsForce247’s county-by-county look at the Nov. 3 election across all 88 Ohio counties. Results and turnout from Adams County’s precincts will be reported after the polls close on election night, and the board’s canvass will follow in the days after Nov. 3.