Ohio’s 2025 primary election is Tuesday, May 6 — polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voters who are unsure whether they are registered to vote can check their status online. Precincts and polling locations can be found on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.
Absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by May 5. Alternatively, they can be dropped off at the Summit County Board of Elections, located at 470 Grant St. in Akron, by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at polling locations, as they will not be counted.
What is on the ballot?
Every ballot in Ohio will include the new Issue 2, which, if passed, would allow the state to sell up to $2.5 billion in bonds over the next decade to fund local infrastructure projects.
In Summit County, voters will decide whether the Akron-Summit County Public Library will receive a $160 million levy (Issue 18). The proposed bond issue would provide the library system with 20 years of funding for capital projects such as construction, renovation or furnishing of buildings.
Suggested Reading
And Akron City Council has two open seats this time around. In Ward 1, Fran Wilson and Emily Durway are challenging incumbent Samuel DeShazior. In Ward 8, incumbent Bruce Bolden is facing off against N.J. Akbar.
In a primary election, candidates from each political party are selected for the general election. And in Ohio’s open primary system, voters can decide at the polls which party’s ballot they want to use to vote.
The winners in Ohio primary elections are determined by plurality vote. The candidate with the highest number of votes wins, even if they did not win an outright majority of votes cast.
Other Akron-area races include a Stow Municipal Court judge seat (one of the two candidates withdrew, but both will still appear on the ballot) and the three open seats for Tallmadge City Council at-large.
Sample ballots are available on the Vote 411 website and the BOE website.
Read Signal Akron’s profiles of the candidates:
Akron City Council Ward 1: DeShazior, Wilson and Durway
Akron City Council Ward 8: Akbar, Bolden
Read the 2025 Voter Guide produced by the Akron Area League of Women Voters and Signal Akron.
What to bring to the polls
A photo ID is required when voting in person. Voters can no longer substitute utility bills, bank statements, paychecks or other documents for a valid photo ID. And Ohio’s mobile IDs will not be accepted at polling locations either.
Acceptable forms of identification include:
- Ohio driver’s license or state ID card
- A U.S. passport or U.S. passport card
- Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV
- U.S. military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card
Voters who forget their ID or do not have an acceptable form of identification can cast a provisional ballot and verify their identity after Election Day. They must then return to the Summit County Board of Elections within four days and provide a qualifying form of identification.
