As early voting gets underway in the 2022 General Election, Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose announced this week that absentee ballot applications received to date reflect a 4.4 percent increase over the previous gubernatorial statewide election in 2018.

Ohioans have requested to date 812,200 absentee ballots, including 4,938 requests from military and overseas voters whose absentee ballots began to be mailed Sept. 23.

Counties with the largest increases compared to 2018 by total number include Summit (+6,631), Trumbull (+3,836), and Delaware (+3,613). Counties with the largest decreases compared to 2018 by total number include Cuyahoga (-9,016), Franklin (-4,201), and Fairfield (-1,487).

“Starting today, more than 800,000 absentee ballots will begin hitting mailboxes across Ohio,” LaRose said. “This level of absentee ballot utilization for an election like this one is a strong indicator that Ohioans continue to have confidence in the security of our mail-in ballot system, and for good reason – there is no better system for security and convenience than ours.”

Ohio voters will benefit from nearly 200 hours of early voting opportunities for the 2022 General Election, with early voting having started on IOt. 12. Ohio is one of 19 states that allows voting on a Saturday and one of just six states that allows early voting on a Sunday. Ohio’s early voting period is 21 percent longer than the national average.

Voters may also choose to vote by mail. Learn how to request your absentee ballot at VoteOhio.gov.

“Of the 42 states that run a traditional absentee voting system, a comprehensive review by the Brookings Institute determined no state does it better than Ohio,” LaRose’s office said in a statement.

Ohioans have utilized absentee voting for two decades, and that has allowed Ohio to put in place both the laws and processes necessary to make absentee voting secure against fraud, LaRose’s office said.

Voter identification and signature are checked TWICE during the process.

Voter list maintenance allows for accurate voter rolls.

Ballot harvesting is against the law in Ohio.

Voters are able to track their ballot on VoteOhio.gov/Track.