Primaries in Texas and North Carolina kicked off the 2026 election season. States across the U.S. will head to the polls to select to which candidates will appear on ballots in the November midterm elections.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently confirmed the statewide candidates who will appear on Ohio’s 2026 primary ballot.
Who are the candidates? When is the primary? And what is the major change Ohio voters need to know about? Here are the details.
Who is on the Ohio primary ballot in 2026?
According to LaRose, these are the statewide candidates who met the minimum signature requirement to qualify for the May 5, 2026 primary election:
Ohio voter registration deadlines for 2026 elections
Ohioans must register or update their voter registration no later than 30 days before an election. The registration deadline for the May 5 primary is April 6, 2026. Boards of elections and the Ohio Secretary of State’s office are open until 9 p.m. that day.
Here are the upcoming voter registration deadlines in 2026:
If you register or update your information after the deadline, the changes will apply for the next election.
When does Ohio early voting start? Key dates for early, absentee, mail-in votes
The primary and special election will be held May 5, 2026, according to this year’s voting schedule.
Early in‑person voting begins April 7, including the Saturday and Sunday before Election Day. Absentee voting by mail also begins April 7.
On Election Day, May 5, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Absentee ballots must be received by your local board of elections by 7:30 p.m., per the voting schedule.
Important Ohio absentee voter change to know about in 2026
One big change in Ohio for the primary election and beyond is the submission deadline for absentee ballots.
Signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in December 2025, Senate Bill 293 requires absentee ballots to arrive by the close of polls to be counted, with an exception for military and overseas voters. There is no grace period for mail-in ballots.
In the November 2025 election, about 7,300 of 170,000 mailed ballots arrived after Election Day, according to data from the secretary of state’s office.
How to register to vote in Ohio
You can register to vote online via the Secretary of State’s office or VoteOhio.gov. You can also register by mail through the National Mail Voter Registration form available on the Ohio Secretary of State site, or in person at locations such as the boards of elections, public libraries, and Bureau of Motor Vehicles locations, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
To register online, you will need to have the following information:
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: When is Ohio’s 2026 primary election? Date, candidates, changes to know
Reporting by Alex Perry, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
