Your neighbors are voting early. Here's who they're backing.

The fairest year to compare this election with is 2022. Like this year, it had a governor’s race at the top of the ballot, county races below it, and no race for president.

Measured against 2022, early voting in Scioto County is busier. By Friday, more than 7,100 people had already voted. At the same point in 2022, about 5,800 had. This year’s early vote is already bigger than the whole 2022 early vote, and there are still two days left.

Most of the growth is people voting in person, which is up almost half from 2022. Mail ballots are a little behind where they were. Portsmouth is up the most, with almost 40% more early votes than four years ago. About half of the people who have voted early this year did not vote early last time.

There's something different this year though... early votes from Democratic voters are about the same as in 2022. Republican votes are up a little. The biggest jump is from voters who don’t usually pick a side in the primaries, and their early votes are up by more than half. Those voters will decide close local races, including the two county commissioner seats.

The way we see it, there are two campaigns built by neighbors...

This year the Scioto County Democratic Party endorsed two candidates for county commissioner.

Kathryn Cochran is running as an independent. She is the first independent candidate our party has ever backed. Abby Spears has worked in public health and public safety in this county for almost 30 years, and she is running to bring jobs that let families stay here.

Neither of them is paying for her own campaign. Their money comes from people.

Based on reports sourced from the Board of Elections and a spreadsheet.. Kathryn has raised about $3,800, and most of it came from 26 people, nearly all of them in Scioto County. A typical gift was about $100. She spent it showing up: a booth at the county fair, a spot in the River Days parade, and yard signs. Abby has raised about $2,500, and nine of every ten dollars came from individual donors, with a typical gift of $50. The county Democratic Party gave money to both of them.

... and two campaigns paid for by the candidates

The Republican candidates, Merit Smith and Will Mault, were both appointed to their seats as county commissioners. Their campaigns look very different from Kathryn's and Abby's.

Smith has reported about $19,500. Almost nine of every ten dollars is his own, mostly a $15,000 loan he made to his campaign. He reported one individual donor. Mault has reported about $18,900, and more than nine of every ten dollars is his own. His campaign owes him about $17,700. A third candidate in Abby's race, Thomas Hamilton, has no donors at all. His whole campaign is loans to himself.

Put it side by side. Kathryn and Abby have 41 donors between them. Smith and Mault have 18. When people in this county reach into their own pockets for a commissioner candidate, they are mostly doing it for ours.

(One note: the reports cover different time periods. Smith's and Mault's last reports are from May, so their newer numbers are not included here.)

Where is their party?

Here is something that stood out to us in the reports.

Kathryn and Abby have dozens of local people giving to their campaigns, and the county Democratic Party gave money to both of them. That is what you would expect when a party believes in its candidates.

The Republican side looks different. Smith and Mault have very few donors, and their reports show no money from the Republican Party. The money goes the other way: Smith paid the county Republican Central Committee $1,000 for a table at one of its events, and Mault paid the county Republican Club at least $3,700 for mailers.

Both men were appointed to their seats with their party's backing. So why aren't more of their own supporters, or their own party, putting money into their campaigns? We don't know. Maybe the party is spending its money some other way. But when a candidate has to pay for almost all of his own campaign, it is fair to ask how many people are really behind him.

Vote this weekend or on Tuesday

You can still vote early at the Scioto County Board of Elections today, Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no early voting on Monday.

On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On Election Day you have to vote at your own polling place, which may not be where you voted last time. To find yours, go to VoteOhio.gov and look up your registration. It will show your polling place. Bring a photo ID, such as an Ohio driver's license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or a military ID.

If you have a mail ballot at home, don't mail it this late. Drop it off at the Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Kathryn and Abby got this far because people in this county gave them $25, $50 or $100 at a time. Now they need your vote. Vote Blue and No on Issue 3.

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Sources: Scioto County absentee voter lists for 2022 and 2026, the county voter file, and campaign finance reports filed with the Scioto County Board of Elections. Early vote counts are through Friday, October 30, 2026, compared with the same point in 2022. Party is based on the last party primary a voter took part in. Campaign finance reports requested and sent via email from the Board of Elections. Information was double checked but can have errors, do not rely on this data.