Next year’s political news, in Ohio and across the country, is likely to revolve around the 2026 Midterm Elections. State leaders have made some big changes to how Ohioans will vote in the Midterms and how elections are run and secured.

COLUMBUS — A new group is taking over the investigation of campaign finance violations in Ohio, and it begins work on Jan. 1. It’s called the Ohio Election Integrity Commission, and lawmakers created it in the state budget to replace the longtime Ohio Elections Commission.

The Nov. 3, 2026 election will be the first major referendum on President Donald Trump's second term. At the state level, Ohioans will see a shakeup in leadership with the departure of Gov. Mike DeWine as other term-limited officials pursue new jobs.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has tapped leadership for the new Ohio Election Integrity Commission. As part of last summer’s budget, state lawmakers axed the state’s existing independent campaign watchdog and replaced it with a new office under the secretary’s control.

Ohio is changing the rules for absentee voting ahead of the 2026 election. Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation on Dec. 19 to eliminate the grace period for mailed absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day. The move came as the Trump administration targets mail-in voting and the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a case over ballot deadlines.

The Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced there was a record number of close races in the 2025 general election. “Tight races

Ohio Secretary of State's office reports 1,200 election fraud cases referred and record business registrations in 2025.

Close contests in northwest Ohio occurred in five counties, including two races that came down to a single vote.

The fact that voter fraud is rare in our state is because lawmakers take fraud seriously and those who try to game the system are punished. And because the threats to election security are always evolving, state law should evolve alongside those threats to ensure that Ohio elections remain honest and accurate.

Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said his hand was forced, given the uncertain outcome of a Mississippi case that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide next summer.

Historians point to 1864 as the year America began absentee voting on a large scale. President Abraham Lincoln wanted the votes of soldiers fighting in the Civil War, so they mailed ballots from the battlefield,

When Ohio lawmakers return to work in February, one of the issues they will need to grapple with is how to shape laws around artificial intelligence. State Rep. Thad Claggett (R-Licking County), who chairs the House Technology and Innovation Committee,