Ross County — Early voting has been higher than usual, and you have only three more days left before you can’t vote on Monday and then must vote at your poling place on Tuesday.
The leadership of the Ross County Board of Elections spoke with me at a slow point on Thursday, October 29th, 2026 – as they oversaw early voting in the Ross County Service Center off Western Avenue in Chillicothe.
Board of Elections director Traci Henness and deputy director Jessica Ott said that they have been very busy, with more than 6,000 in-office voters, and more than 3,000 mailed-out ballots for the fall election. Out of about 45,000 voters in Ross County, they said that rate is higher than the last governor’s race in 2022 – though not at the level of a presidential election.
Early voting continues 7:30 to 7:30 today (Friday), 8 to 4 Saturday, and 1 to 5 Sunday. But there is no early voting on Monday…and then from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, you must vote at your polling place.
You must also have a valid ID, which can be a drivers license, state ID, or passport. Unlike previous years, utility bills won’t work.
If you have any questions you can call the office at 740 / 775-2350 or email [email protected]. The office and early voting location is at 475 Western Avenue in Chillicothe.
They say election results will start to be posted on their website by 8:30 pm on election day – mostly absentee and mailed votes – and then updated every half hour as results come in from polling places.
Final results should be posted late Tuesday night. But technically, final certification isn’t until mid-November, followed by a final audit. In addition, the “cure period” to verify any provisional ballots is the four days following election day.
And if you’re looking for decent pay for a long one or two days a year, they are always looking for poll workers. (I have been doing that for about 15 years.)
The Ross County Board of Elections has a website and Facebook page. You can also look up your exact ballot online, and print it out for reference on Tuesday to make your vote fast.
