LIMA — Early voting is under way in Allen County, where voters are casting ballots at the Board of Elections office at 204 N. Main St. in Lima ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election — and where, for the first time in more than 20 years, a Democrat is challenging a Republican incumbent for county commissioner. The office is the county’s single early-voting location for voters from Lima, Delphos, Bluffton, Elida, Spencerville and every township in between; neighborhood precincts open only on Election Day.
The challenger, Lew Modic, brings a background in engineering, manufacturing and workforce development to a race that has rarely been contested — all three Allen County commissioners are currently Republicans. Modic has made transparency a centerpiece, questioning whether large projects, including a proposed Google data center near Lima, deliver enough benefit in jobs and tax base, and what they mean for water, electricity costs and farmland.
He also proposes livestreaming commissioner meetings and adopting a comprehensive development plan that balances growth with protecting farmland and neighborhoods in a county working to reverse population decline and expand rural internet access. Win or lose, his candidacy gives voters a genuine choice in a race long left unchallenged.
Allen County voters will also help decide Ohio’s statewide contests — governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, two Ohio Supreme Court seats and a U.S. Senate seat — plus congressional and state legislative races and local questions. Because ballots differ by precinct, the board urges voters to view their own sample ballot through its website before voting.
Early in-person hours follow the uniform statewide schedule: Monday through Friday, Oct. 19-23, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 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 voting by mail face firm deadlines under current Ohio law. Absentee ballot applications must reach the board by Oct. 27, and a voted ballot must be received by the board — or placed in its drop box — by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, to count; a postmark no longer saves a late ballot, with a limited exception for military and overseas voters. Registration for this election closed Oct. 5.
Anyone voting in person 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 in line when a session ends may still cast a ballot. The board can be reached at (419) 223-8530. Allen County is the second stop in NewsForce247’s county-by-county look at the Nov. 3 election across all 88 Ohio counties.