Hamilton County voters requested about 19,000 fewer mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election than they did at the same point four years ago.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 6, the county had received 38,856 mail ballot requests, down from 58,182 in 2022. That 33% decline outpaces the statewide drop of 26%, Signal Cincinnati first reported Wednesday. The trend affects voters across Hamilton County, including in Anderson Township, Mariemont, Newtown and Terrace Park, who all cast early ballots at the Board of Elections on Smith Road.

The drop coincides with a surge in early in-person voting. Statewide, voters cast 20,030 early in-person ballots on Oct. 6 across 56 counties with available data, more than double the 8,647 on the first day of early voting in 2022.

Alex Linser, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, attributed much of the local shift to voters preferring the county's newer, larger in-person voting center at the Board of Elections, which opened earlier this decade. But concerns about the U.S. Postal Service are compounding that trend, Linser told Signal Cincinnati.

"A lot of people have concerns about voting by mail," Linser said. "So I think we're going to see less participation in that form because of the president's behavior."

President Donald Trump directed the Postal Service to develop a system screening ballot envelopes against eligible voter lists. The U.S. Supreme Court blocked those regulations from taking effect this year after voting-rights groups challenged them.

Jen Miller, president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said voters have flooded her organization with concerns about mail reliability. They are "not necessarily trusting that their ballot will come to them or their ballot will return," Miller told Signal Cincinnati. She advised anyone worried to bring their ballot directly to their county drop box or board of elections office. A new state law requires all mail ballots to arrive by Election Day to be counted.

The trend is not new. Since 2023, most early voting in Ohio has occurred in person, reaching 62% of the early vote in the May 2026 primary. Aaron Ockerman, director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, said officials statewide have reported the decline and raised concerns it could mean longer lines at the polls.

Early in-person voting at the Hamilton County Board of Elections, 4700 Smith Road, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 9. Additional hours are listed on the county election calendar. Mail ballot applications are accepted until 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Election Day polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3.