COLUMBUS, Ohio — Early voting is officially underway at county boards of elections across Ohio in advance of the November General Election.

In the most populated county of the state, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown joined party leaders and other candidates for a rally near the Franklin County Board of Elections in hopes of encouraging supporters to continue grassroots efforts through Election Day.

“We’ve had more money spent against me in this Senate race than any Senate race in the history of the United States of America,” Brown said.

He’s seeking another four-year term of representing the state in Washington and is running against Republican businessman Bernie Moreno. Someone Brown said he’s willing to take on in a debate.

“He thinks it’s crazy to advocate for somebody other than yourself, so that’s where we draw the line,” Brown said.

Brown hopes to continue the work he said he’s done so far.

“We capped Medicare, we capped insulin prices, we passed an infrastructure bill,” he said. “We passed the most major investment in climate change ever.”

The U.S. Senate race is one of the major draws on Ohio ballots this year. Voters like Greg and Meg Bizzarri wanted to be among the first to cast their ballots.

“We know that it’s our duty, our responsibility, to go out and vote every year,” Greg said. “There’s always an issue that needs to be voted on. If we don’t vote, we’re giving away our right to vote.”

“I voted for my daughter and my granddaughter because someone voted for me for women’s rights,” said Greg’s wife, Meg.

But it doesn’t matter whether the voting is done early or on Election Day Nov. 5, Jamie Shumaker said it’s just important to vote.

“We’re protecting our rights, our family’s rights,” she said. “So, I always feel like people before me fought really hard to get the right to vote. And why wouldn’t I vote? Like, we always need to make sure everybody votes.”