by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal July 24, 2023 Early voting figures for the Ohio Aug. 8 special election are surpassing even the most optimistic expectations. Through seven days of early voting more than 116,000 Ohioans have shown up at their local board to cast a ballot. Another 38,000 have absentee ballots have made their way in as well. As Secretary of State Frank LaRose noted in a press release, it represents a “five-fold increase” in compared to last year’s August election. For additional context, the sum total of early in-person votes cast in last year’s May primary election — which included a hotly contested GOP U.S.