When are midterm election votes counted in Ohio?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Polls might be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, but election officials' work starts earlier and ends far later to ensure voting goes smoothly -- and election results come quickly.

Poll workers arrive to their precincts at around 5 a.m. to get the machines and venue ready for voters. And when polls close at night, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said workers shift to what they call "ENR:" Election Night Reporting.

As soon as the 4,000 polling places across the state close on Tuesday night, LaRose's office tells all 88 county board of elections to start the count.

“The very first ballots that are counted are those early votes and the absentee votes,” LaRose said. “It’s kind of intuitive why -- a bipartisan team has already cut open the envelopes, proofed the signatures, checked the identification numbers, and so those are ready to go.”

Even though polls close at 7:30 p.m., LaRose emphasized that vote counts cannot start until all locations have closed -- meaning those in line by closing time have a chance to cast their ballot.

And LaRose said as results come in, there are quality checks that his team performs to ensure accurate tallies.

“A great example would be the total number of votes for candidate A and candidate B should equal the total number of voters who checked in at that polling location,” LaRose said.

Voters with absentee ballots have until Monday to postmark and mail them, or they can return their ballots at their county's board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.