The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio, it’s Election Day! Tell all your friends and family to vote.
Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
You can check your voter registration, and find your voting precinct and polling location, by checking with the Ohio Secretary of State here.
If you are in line to vote by 7:30 p.m., stay in line, you can still vote.
Non-Military and overseas absentee ballots must be received by your board of elections by 7:30 p.m. If you have a non-military or overseas absentee ballot, is too late to mail your ballot with the U.S. Postal Service and you must bring it to your local board of elections by 7:30 p.m.
Military and overseas absentee ballots must be received (by mail) by boards of elections by Nov. 7 to be counted.
This is an extremely important election for the state of Ohio.
Voters will decide on statewide leadership of Ohio for the next four years, with impacts on nearly everything: Ohio laws, education, utility bills and energy, healthcare, elections, constitutional rights, roads and bridges, support for local police, firefighters, EMTs, and libraries.
Ohio voters will select a new governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, and treasurer.
Ohio voters have another U.S. Senate election.
Ohio voters also have two Ohio Supreme Court races to decide.
Voters will also decide on a proposal from Ohio Republican lawmakers to amend the Ohio Constitution to include a voter photo ID requirement in elections, which is currently required under state law.
The Ohio Capital Journal will be running a live blog on our website today for breaking news updates starting at 9 a.m.
Former U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, left, and U.S. Senator Jon Husted, right. (Photos from WEWS)
By Marty Schladen
As voters go to the polls in Ohio today, they'll cast ballots in one of the most expensive, closely watched elections in the United States, which may decide control of the U.S. Senate: incumbent Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted vs. Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown.
By Nick Evans
Ohioans cast more than 1.7 million ballots early this year, either in person, through the mail, or a drop box. That total is 17% higher than the early vote total for the last midterm election in 2022.
By Megan Henry
Ohio’s competitive congressional races could play a role in determining which party holds power in the U.S. House.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Kevin Hardy
As broad affordability concerns define elections across the country, voters in several states on Tuesday will have a say on their future utility bills.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Marcus Baram, Capital & Main
In the final stretch of the 2026 midterm campaigns, energy is everywhere on the ballot, as voters weigh the increasing costs for heating oil, diesel, power bills, and water, from local questions to the plans of state and national candidates.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Ashley Murray and Jonathan Shorman
When the polls close Tuesday night, the 2026 U.S. election will go down as one of history’s most expensive and extraordinarily ugly midterms — galvanizing record-breaking early voter turnout among a deeply divided electorate.
CATCHING OUR EYE
The Ohio governor and your life. Cleveland.com’s Jeremy Pelzer reports, “Why it matters who wins the Ohio’s governor’s race and how it will affect daily life.”
When Ohioans elect their next governor on Tuesday, they aren’t just picking a new name to put on “Welcome to Ohio” signs: they’re choosing someone who will have a tangible effect on their daily lives over the next four years and beyond.
Either Democrat Amy Acton or Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will play a big role in shaping how much state residents pay in taxes, the jobs they have, how good their schools are, their healthcare costs, and the condition of the roads they drive on, among a litany of other everyday concerns.Local school levies. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports, “More than 130 Ohio public school districts are asking voters for dollars Tuesday.”
There will be 133 local school levies on the ballot in Ohio Tuesday. The leader of a group that represents school boards throughout Ohio says it's been difficult for school districts on the ballot because of uncertainty with local property taxes.Ohio School Boards Association CEO Tom Hosler said schools on the ballot are dealing with uncertainty as they face rising costs, state funding that has lagged inflation, and growing concerns about property taxes. With questions about funding that could come about from property tax changes, Hosler said it’s been a challenge for districts to figure out what they can or cannot do if levies don’t pass.
Data centers. WOSU’s Katie Geniusz reports, “From Trenton to Grove City, data centers are on Ohio ballots this election.”
Ohio leads the nation in data center-related ballot measures in the upcoming election, with 21 initiatives across 18 municipalities.
Voters in these areas — from Trenton in the state's southwest to Defiance in the rural northwest — will have the opportunity to decide whether to adopt regulations that would limit the construction of hyper-scale data centers.
Ohio has more than 200 data center projects planned or under construction — the fifth highest in the nation.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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