It’s election time! Ohio Primaries and Special Elections are scheduled for May 5, 2026.

To vote early at your county’s early voting center, check with your county Board of Elections here for info on times and locations. Early voting starts on April 7.

The registration deadline for this election is April 6th. To check if your registration is up to date before the deadline, you can review your registration and voting precinct here.

Why the Primaries Matter: When voters cast their vote in a primary election, it helps ensure that the candidates in the general election are more representative of the people.

Primary elections are when voters decide a party’s candidate for the upcoming general election. These are typically held in the spring for the fall election. Other issues, both state and local, may also be on a primary ballot. Most primaries are partisan, meaning candidates from the same party are running against each other for their party’s nomination.

In Ohio, we don’t have to be registered with a political party to vote for candidates in a primary. We can choose to vote for a candidate from either party. Based on the Primary results, Ohioans will vote for candidates seeking office at the federal, state, and county levels in the General Election this November.

These positions include:

Federal offices

• 1 US Senate seat
• All 15 US House seats

Ohio state offices

• Ohio Governor
• Ohio Attorney General
• Ohio Secretary of State
• Ohio Treasurer
• Ohio Auditor
• 2 of 7 Ohio Supreme Court seats

County offices

• County Commissioner or County Council
• Prosecuting Attorney
• County Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
• County Sheriff
• County Recorder
• County Treasurer,
• County Engineer
• County Coroner
• County Auditor
• Municipal Court Clerk

These offices and positions are vital and shape the state and communities we live in. We encourage you to research candidates and check out a sample ballot for your area to learn the issues you’re voting on this May by visiting: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/sample-ballot/.