CLEVELAND — This guide will help you navigate Primary Election Day in Northeast Ohio.
In-person voting
Polls open in Ohio at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. on May 3.
How to find your polling location
You can find your polling location here.
View your sample ballot here.
Will I need an ID to vote?
All voters will need to bring an acceptable identification to the poll in order to verify their identity. Click here for a list of acceptable forms of identification.
If you are all about bragging about exercising your right to vote, you can save and share the I VOTED sticker on social media to let your fellow Ohioans know you voted. Click here to download the sticker.
What is a primary election and can I vote in it?
Primary elections, held several months before the General Election in November, allow voters to nominate a candidate from one political party to run for that seat in the General Election.
Ohio primaries are partisan but open, meaning voters do not have to register as one political party before the election, but will have to choose to nominate candidates from one party when they vote by selecting and voting on one party’s partisan ballot at the polling place.
Voters who wish to remain unaffiliated will not be allowed to nominate partisan candidates, but they can vote on non-partisan ballot questions and issues.
Winners in Ohio primary elections are determined by plurality, meaning a candidate does not need over 50% of the vote to be considered the winner of the primary election, they only need the highest vote count of the primary candidates running.
Major races on the ballot:
Governor and lieutenant governor
- John Cranley & Teresa Fedor—Democratic
- Nan Whaley & Cheryl L. Stephens—Democratic
- Joe Blystone & Jeremiah W. Workman—Republican
- Mike DeWine & Jon Husted— Republican
- Ron Hood & Candice Keller— Republican
- Jim Renacci & Joe Knopp—Republican
Attorney General
- Jeffrey A. Crossman—Democratic
- Dave Yost—Republican
Auditor of State
- Taylor Sappington—Democratic
- Keith Faber—Republican
Secretary of State
- Chelsea Clark—Democratic
- John Adams— Republican
- Frank LaRose—Republican
United States Senator
- Morgan Harper—Democratic
- Traci TJ Johnson—Democratic
- Tim Ryan—Democratic
- Matt Dolan—Republican
- Mike Gibbons— Republican
- Josh Mandel— Republican
- Neil Patel—Republican
- Mark Pukita—Republican
- Jane Timken—Republican
- JD Vance—Republican
Congressional District 11—Representative to Congress
- Shontel Brown—Democratic
- Nina Turner—Democratic
- Eric J. Brewer—Republican
- James Hemphill—Republican
Cuyahoga County Executive
- Chris Ronayne—Democratic
- Tariq K. Shabazz—Democratic
- Lee Weingart—Republican
Other races that will appear on the primary ballot include judicial and municipal candidates and treasurer of state.
Why aren't state legislative offices on the ballot?
Races for state senators and state representatives are being split into a second primary to be held at an as-yet-unscheduled date due to the ongoing issues surrounding Ohio's redistricting process. News 5 Statehouse Reporter Morgan Trau has more details on that here.
Early voting numbers
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Monday that 301,837 absentee ballots have been requested by mail or in-person and that 263,542 votes have been cast statewide.
These numbers surpassed 2018 and 2014's early voting numbers.
Track the 2022 Primary Election live results on the News 5 election page.
Visit the Ohio Secretary of State's website for additional information on voting.
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