Analysis: Ohio Voter Assessment – October 2022

• Ohio state currently has 8,010,523 voters on its voter rolls, with an almost even 50/50 split betweenvoters 50 years of age or older and voters under 50. As a corollary, total vote in any election tends to be comprised of a higher number of 50+ voters than younger voters, but especially in off year and primary elections. In Presidential years, the voting patterns are closer to the registration ratio. In primaryelections, however, the 50+ tend to comprise over 75% of all voters.

• Ohio has an open primary system, meaning that while a person needs to register to vote beforehand,he or she does not need to register with a political party in order to vote in that party’s primary. Under Ohio election law, voters declare their political party affiliation by requesting the ballot of a political party in a partisan primary election. Voters select their preferred party primary ballots at their polling places on Election Day, or when requesting an absentee ballot. Those not desiring to affiliate with a political party in Ohio are considered to be “Unaffiliated” voters.

• Over 69% of registered voters in Ohio are Unaffiliated voters, having not voted in a party primary and thus are not registered with any political party. These voters are substantially younger with only 39% being 50 years of age or older. Those who are affiliated with a political party, however, are overwhelmingly 50+ years of age (77% for Republicans and 71% for Democrats).

• This trend has significant impact to primary elections. In the August 2022 Primary for Ohio’s state legislature and political party leaders, 83% of the overall vote was comprised of Ohioans 50+. This votebroke down further with 86% of Republican voters and 77% of Democrats being 50+. When the scope iswidened to include those who voted in the May primary for US Congress and statewide offices, the ratios are similar with the 50+ comprising 77% of all voters, 79% of Republicans and 75% of Democrats