Ohio early voting starts today. Here’s what we’re watching

Early voting starts Tuesday across Ohio, where multiple election-denying candidates are vying for office as voters weigh a voter-ID constitutional amendment.

Democracy Docket is tracking the top issues, including what Ohioans need to know when casting their ballot and what to be on the lookout for this election cycle.

On the ballot is Republicans’ attempt to enshrine Ohio’s voter ID law into the state constitution. The amendment would make the state law — which requires voters to show a state-issued ID or U.S. passport or military card when they cast their ballots — more difficult to repeal.

Ohio’s two statewide races — a U.S. Senate seat and the governorship — both pit pro-voting candidates against Republicans who support anti-voting measures. Sen. Jon Husted, the incumbent appointed to replace Vice President JD Vance, has aggressively backed federal voter ID laws, including introducing a bill in the Senate in March.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur and one-time Republican presidential hopeful, has criticized President Donald Trump for refusing to accept his 2020 loss but still claimed, without evidence, that “the 2020 election was indeed stolen by Big Tech.”

Husted and Ramaswamy both support the ballot measure and more stringent state voter ID laws.

Both their opponents — former Sen. Sherrod Brown and gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton — oppose the voter ID constitutional amendment. 

The Ohio election comes as the Trump administration puts inordinate pressure on voter registration nonprofits. In June, the FBI raided a Democrat-aligned registration group, which experts and politicians said threatened voting rights.

Ohio also voluntarily provided the U.S. Department of Justice its state voter records as part of the Trump administration’s nationwide investigation into election administration. And in August, a federal court blocked Ohio Republicans’ bid to require voters to show proof of citizenship at the ballot boxes.

The state is a key battleground for control of Congress. Though Trump won Ohio by 11 points in 2024, polling consistently shows Brown and Acton with narrow leads over Husted and Ramaswamy.

Ohio’s early voting period runs until Nov. 1. Voters can find information on polling locations, ID requirements and more here.