Columbus, Ohio – Secretary of State Frank LaRose unveiled the latest update on party affiliation data in Ohio, revealing adjustments made in the Statewide Voter Registration Database following voter activity in the March primary election.
In adherence to Ohio law, a voter’s partisan affiliation is determined primarily by their participation in a political party’s primary election. According to the statutes, a voter becomes a member of a political party if they either voted in that party’s primary within the preceding two calendar years or refrained from participating in any other party’s primary within the same timeframe.
Fluctuations in party affiliation numbers are common and are typically influenced by voter engagement during primary elections.
Ohio operates as a decentralized voter registration state, with data maintained in the Statewide Voter Registration Database compiled by the 88 county boards of elections.
The current breakdown of Ohio’s voter affiliation, based on data from voter registration and history compiled by the county boards, is as follows:
- Total Registered Voters in Ohio: 8,060,554
- Registered Democrats: 817,063
- Registered Republicans: 1,508,641
- Unaffiliated Registered Voters: 5,734,850
Changes in affiliation status include:
- Retained Affiliation:
- Democrat to Democrat: 441,870
- Republican to Republican: 841,266
- New Affiliation:
- Unaffiliated to Republican: 284,948
- Unaffiliated to Democrat: 114,079
- Affiliation Switch:
- Democrat to Republican: 37,543
- Libertarian to Republican: 188
- Republican to Democrat: 20,845
- Lost Affiliation*:
- Democrat to Unaffiliated: 302,404
- Republican to Unaffiliated: 160,827
- Libertarian to Unaffiliated: 1,545
(*This category only includes voters in Active/Confirmation status without a private address flag.)
LaRose emphasized that Ohioans with queries or apprehensions regarding their party affiliation status should reach out to their respective county boards of elections for clarification.
