Ohio Election Results & Exit Polls
Ohio voting results are called after all forms of voting have been tallied and official numbers are released. All types of voting are accounted for at different times, such as absentee, in-person and early voting are mostly staggered for up to months in advance of the election. Up until the official number from all forms of voting is revealed, the unofficial numbers will be released and is usually what is used to determine early outcome of races. The state becomes officially called once the official numbers are in.
You can keep up with live Ohio voting results via:
Reuters
Washington Post
New York Times
CNN
Ohio Election Exit Polls
Exit polls in Ohio are given just after a voter leaves a polling facility after voting. These polls are important to help give an idea as to how the polling numbers look for all candidates up until the election. This same process happens on election day itself. These polls help determine who voted for which candidates and why. A typical exit poll questionnaire asks voters questions such as who they voted for and why, their age, gender and level of education. These surveys are conducted at random and require participation of the voter.
Ohio Early & Absentee Voting
The state of Ohio allows for numerous ways of voting. All voting processes are eligible for all those who are registered to vote in Ohio. You must register to vote for the general election by October 5th. If you are not registered to vote, you may do so by registering either online, in-person or by mail.
Voter registration requirements in the state of Ohio:
- Must be a citizen of the United States.
- A resident of the state of Ohio for at least 30 days prior to the election.
- Must not be serving a felony sentence or have been declared incompetent for voting purposes, or have been permanently disenfranchised.
- Must be 18 years of age or older prior to election day.
You can request your Ohio Voter Registration and Information Update Form online or via mail. If you need to simply update your Ohio voter registration information, you may do so here. You may also register to vote in-person at numerous locations in OH. Some of these locations include:
- County Board of Election offices.
- Public high schools or vocational schools.
- Public libraries.
- Secretary of State office.
You may find the full list of locations available for in-person voting registration here.
Absentee Voting
All registered voters are allowed to vote absentee in the state of Ohio. You may request your absentee ballot beginning 90 days before the date of an election. The deadline to request your absentee ballot is by 12pm on October 31st. You can request an absentee ballot with an Ohio mail-in ballot application. Once you have received and completely and correctly filled out your absentee ballot, you may then return it to your local election office.
Your ballot must be returned and postmarked by November 2nd, and must be received no later than November 13th. If you are returning your ballot in person, it must be turned in no later than November 3rd by 7:30pm. You can track your absentee ballot here.
Early In-Person Voting
Ohio registered voters are allowed to vote prior to election day. This early voting period begins on October 6th, and ends on November 2nd. You can find the nearest early voting facility near you via the OhioSOS website.
Ohio Voting Recounts & Winners
The procedures in which election recounts are implemented are determined at the state level. A state may decide whether to implement an automatic recount based on numerous factors, or it may decide not to and leave it up to the voters and/or candidates to request one. In the case of Ohio in particular, recounts are automatically triggered when the margin is less than or equal to 0.25% for statewide races or 0.5% for district races or other non-statewide races. Voters or the candidates themselves may also request a full or partial recount if they decide to do so.
Generally speaking, recounts are typically only requested or triggered in the event of a very close race in which the margin of win or loss for a candidate is small. There are other factors as well that may trigger a recount such as suspicion of fraud, administrative errors suspected or clerical issues that may come to light at any point. The state of Ohio does not cover the cost of an election recount. This means the requestor will be responsible to pay for the process. In the outcome of a recount leading to a change in the election results, the requestors cost for the recount may be refunded.
OH Election Winners
The Electoral College is responsible for determining the outcome of the presidential and vice presidential elections. The Electoral College is made up of 538 individual electors from all around the United States. The number of electors each state has can vary based on how many state representatives and senators they poses, or how that specific state set up how their electors are chosen. In this case, OH has 16 congressional district electors and two senators, which leads to a total of 18 electors. Out of the 538 U.S. electors deciding the outcome of the race, a majority of 270 electors is required to be elected for both president and vice president. The state of Ohio will be officially called by the Associated Press or Reuters when one candidate in the race receives the majority of votes.
Once a candidate has a clear lead or loss over their opponent in the polls or on election day, the candidate may decide to give a concession speech. Soon after the concession speech of one candidate is given, the winner may then give their victory speech.
The Ohio primary is one of four Presidential primary contest held on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Ohio will send 136 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention which will be proportionally allocated among the candidates based off the percentage of votes they received.
Polls are open between 6:30 AM until 7:30 PM EST. Ohio has an open primary, meaning any registered voter is able to participate. Ohio is one of 39 states that allows early voting and all voters are also eligible to cast an absentee ballot for any reason whatsoever.
A candidate must receive 15% or more of the vote in order to be considered a viable candidate and be awarded delegates.
*Update* Ohio has cancelled their Presidential primary due to the coronavirus pandemic. This post will be updated when it is rescheduled.