Central Ohio voter turnout drops in '24
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Voter turnout plummeted in and around Columbus this election cycle, with Franklin County recording its lowest general election turnout percentage in decades.
Why it matters: The decline may have shaped Tuesday's results, in which Republicans swept the statewide races and defeated a redistricting reform amendment.
Caveat: Election results are still unofficial, with a small number of provisional and absentee ballots outstanding.
By the numbers: Franklin County turnout dropped to just 66% of registered voters, down from 72% in 2020 and 70% in 2016.
- The 2024 figure trails statewide turnout of around 70%. It currently represents the lowest county voting percentage in a presidential general election since at least 2004, the last year of easily searchable Board of Elections data.
- About 592,000 votes were cast countywide this year, compared with about 636,000 in 2020.
State of play: Ohio's most populous counties leaned Democrat this cycle, but every county carried by Sen. Sherrod Brown saw a decrease in turnout since 2020, an Axios review of election data found.
- Cuyahoga County, another Democratic stronghold, dropped from 71% turnout in 2020 to 64% this year.
- Dave Brock, that county's Democratic Party chair, told our colleagues at Axios Cleveland that a combination of factors, including fraudulent national narratives about election security and the lack of visits by candidates at the top of the ticket, may have contributed to the lackluster showing locally.
Reality check: It wasn't just blue counties that declined. Turnout fell in Franklin and every surrounding county (Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Pickaway and Union) by an average of 3.2%.
What they're saying: In his capacity as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther released a statement Wednesday urging the Trump administration to "make housing affordability a priority" and congratulating the president-elect.
- "As we have said, America's mayors are ready to work with leaders of both parties to strengthen our economies, keep cities safe, and continue investing in needed infrastructure."
- OSU also congratulated Sen. JD Vance, the new vice president-elect and a 2009 graduate:
