Early voting underway in Wayne County

Early voting is underway ahead of the May 5 primary election, and the Wayne County Board of Elections is working long hours behind the scenes to ensure every ballot is secure, accurate and counted properly — a process officials say should give voters confidence in the integrity of local elections.

Central to that preparation is a detailed logic and accuracy testing process required before every election. During this phase, elections staff and temporary workers simulate a full election across more than 400 voting machines.

“The process ensures that votes are recorded and tabulated correctly under all possible scenarios and takes approximately 10 days to complete,” said Board of Elections Director Julie Leathers Stahl. “It’s essentially a mock election. We vote every ballot style on every machine that will be used, whether in precincts, for early voting or as backup units.”

Officials emphasized that while ballots — both mail-in and early in-person — are processed as they arrive, no results are calculated or viewed before polls close on Election Day.

Ballots are securely stored within the system, but tabulation does not begin until 7:30 p.m. May 5, when voting officially ends.

“At that moment, we push the button to begin tabulation,” Deputy Director Bryon Bell said. “Until then, no one knows the results. Absentee and early votes are counted first — not last, as some voters mistakenly believe. Because those ballots are already on-site, they can be tabulated immediately while results from the county’s 66 precincts are still being transported. It’s the fastest way to begin reporting results as soon as legally allowed.”

Despite some headlines about proposed changes to voting laws, local officials stressed that no new identification requirements are in effect for this election.

Voters must present a valid, unexpired photo ID, such as a driver’s license, passport or military ID, in accordance with existing Ohio law.

“We’ve received many calls from concerned voters,” Bell said. “But nothing has changed for this election.”

Although one key update involves absentee ballots, they must now be received by the Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Previously, ballots postmarked before the election could arrive after the election.

Officials strongly encourage voters to request and return absentee ballots early or to use the secure drop box available at the elections office, which is monitored around the clock.

Through every phase — testing, voting, counting and auditing — the board’s mission remains the same: to make voting accessible while maintaining strict safeguards against error or interference.

For up-to-date information from the Board of Elections, visit www.waynecountyoh.gov.

Dan Starcher is the communications coordinator for Wayne County.