US Vice President JD Vance cast an early ballot in Ohio's midterm elections on Friday, 10 October 2025, visiting the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Norwood, near Cincinnati, before weighing in on the Pentagon's controversial proposal to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. The trip combined personal civic participation with Republican campaign activity ahead of the November congressional elections.

The Early Vote in Norwood

Vance arrived at the Hamilton County Board of Elections shortly after 12:30 p.m., where dozens of voters were already in line, according to the vice presidential press pool. He presented what appeared to be voter identification and gave his name as 'James David Vance' when prompted by an election official.

After a brief exchange with polling staff, he received his ballot and moved to a voting booth. 'Sorry guys, nobody look at my ballot,' Vance joked as journalists observed. When a local reporter noted that his political leanings were already widely known, Vance laughed and replied: 'Yeah, but I don't want you to know which judges I'm voting for.'

He spent approximately five minutes in the booth before feeding his ballot into a voting machine. Election staff applauded briefly as he thanked them and departed.

Vance on the Fort Hood Execution Livestream

The more substantive policy remarks came during a brief interaction with reporters at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where Air Force Two had landed earlier in the day. Asked about the Pentagon's reported plan to broadcast the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan — the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 — Vance expressed doubt the broadcast would proceed.

'I don't know that that's actually going to happen,' he told reporters. Pressed on how the plan squared with his Christian faith, Vance described Hasan's attack as an exceptionally grave act of terrorism, noting that Hasan had targeted military personnel he was professionally bound to protect as a psychiatrist.

'This is a guy who committed, in my view, the worst terrorist attack on American soil outside of 9/11,' Vance said. He nonetheless made clear he would not personally watch a livestreamed execution: 'If it's through live stream, I'm not going to be watching it.' Notably, Vance stopped short of opposing or seeking the cancellation of the Pentagon's plan.

Congressional Criticism from Indian-American Lawmaker

Vance's hedged remarks came on the same day that Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam sharply criticised the proposed livestream, calling it 'blatantly un-American' and demanding the removal of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Subramanyam argued that broadcasting a state execution would damage America's international standing and set a dangerous precedent — a position notably more categorical than the Vice President's.

The Broader Political Context

Vance's Ohio trip was part of broader Republican mobilisation efforts ahead of the November midterms, which will determine control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate — and thereby shape the legislative agenda for the remaining two years of President Donald Trump's term. After the airport interaction, the Vice President travelled onward to Allen County in Ohio, continuing Republican campaign engagements.

Early voting in Ohio, as in most US states, allows eligible citizens to cast ballots before Election Day under procedures set by state law. The November elections are shaping up as a high-stakes contest, with both parties accelerating ground-level voter outreach across competitive districts.