Franklin County Elections · Early Voting Analysis

Early In-Person Voting: Final-Week Surge and the North-South Divide

Across 22 voting days leading to the Nov. 3, 2026 general election, 93,166 Franklin County electors cast early ballots at 1700 Morse Road. Proximity to the county’s sole early vote center mirrored dramatic turnout disparities between northern communities and southern corridors.

Voters walking through double doors into the Franklin County Early Vote Center beneath an entrance banner.
Voters enter the Franklin County Early Vote Center at 1700 Morse Road. Photo: John Minchillo / Associated Press
Scene 1 · 22 Voting Days

Pace Accelerates to Peak of 6,212 Daily Voters

Early in-person balloting opened on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, with 3,116 voters. Turnout steadily climbed, reaching 54,708 cumulative voters through Saturday, Oct. 24, before a massive final-week surge added 38,458 voters in the concluding seven days alone.

Single-day turnout reached its peak on Tuesday, Oct. 27, with 6,212 voters. Early voting concluded at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, with 3,312 ballots cast on the final afternoon, bringing the completed total to 93,166 electors.

Hours expansion: Early voting center hours expanded during the final week to include evening and weekend voting sessions.

Daily Voters and Cumulative Total (Oct. 6 – Nov. 1, 2026)

Progression across all 22 voting days at 1700 Morse Road

Daily Voters (left scale) Cumulative Total (right scale) Oct. 27 Peak (6,212)
Scene 2 · Municipalities

Northern Suburbs Lead Active Turnout Above 20%

Turnout varied starkly by geographic orientation relative to Morse Road. In northern suburbs, participation rates exceeded 20% of active electors, led by Minerva Park (25.20%) and Worthington (20.02%).

In contrast, southern municipalities recorded the lowest early participation rates in the county: Grove City logged 6.41% and Obetz recorded 5.31%. Columbus, the county’s largest jurisdiction, saw 62,737 early voters, or 13.38% of active registration.

Purge procedure notice: Active registration excludes electors marked inactive under Ohio statutory purge procedures. Data limited to jurisdictions with at least 1,000 active electors.

Municipal Early In-Person Participation

18 municipalities with ≥1,000 active electors, sorted by active turnout rate

Scene 3 · Columbus Wards

Clintonville and Northland Outpace South and East Sides Tenfold

Within the City of Columbus, the north-south divide was even more pronounced. Wards situated near Morse Road and northern corridors turned out at rates multiple times higher than neighborhoods on the city’s south and east sides.

Clintonville (Wards 19–22) reached 27.93% active turnout and Northland near Morse Road reached 23.51%. By contrast, the Far South corridor recorded 7.49%, Ward 37 (Near East) saw 5.77%, Ward 31 (Near South) logged 4.17%, and Ward 41 (East Side) recorded just 2.61%.

Ward grouping: Groups defined by contiguous Columbus ward boundaries.

Columbus Ward Group Early Turnout

Turnout across contiguous Columbus neighborhood corridors

Scene 4 · Townships

Northern Townships Exceed Southern Townships by Fivefold

Township balloting mirrored identical geographic dynamics. Sharon Township (19.91%), Perry Township (17.42%), and Blendon Township (15.83%) in the north led all 17 townships.

Southern townships trailed significantly: Pleasant Township logged 4.17% and Hamilton Township logged 3.99% active turnout. The geographic proximity to the Morse Road center in Northland directly correlated with voter participation.

Proximity context: Townships vary in geographical proximity to the county’s sole early vote center at 1700 Morse Road.

Township Early In-Person Turnout

All 17 Franklin County townships sorted by active turnout rate