Early Voting Begins Today Across Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Early voting in Ohio begins today, and more than 920,000 vote-by-mail requests have been received by county boards of elections statewide, which will begin sending ballots to eligible voters who have requested them starting today, reports Ohio's secretary of state, Jon Husted.
In Cleveland, Youngstown and elsewhere, groups of voters, led by Democratic state senators, staged press events outside county elections boards, where they set up tents Monday and spent the night there as part of the Democratic Party's campaign to get out the early vote. Election Day is Nov. 6.
“Boards of elections are prepared and all voters can have confidence that Ohio will conduct a fair, open, and secure general election,” Husted said in a prepared statement. “No matter which method of voting they choose -- in-person absentee, by mail absentee or on Election Day -- we encourage all Ohioans to take the time now to check their registrations and know the rules so they can have a smooth experience at the polls.”
This year, 7.8 million Ohioans are registered to vote; 922,199 absentee ballot applications have been received as of Friday, and 10,823 military and overseas absentee ballots have been distributed, according to Husted’s office. In addition, nearly 6.9 million absentee ballot applications were sent out to Oho voters over the course of two statewide mailings and more than 62,200 voters updated their address online at the MyOhioVote.com website, where they may also download forms.
Voters must submit absentee ballot requests to county boards of elections no later than noon Nov. 3. Voted ballots must be postmarked by the day before Election Day and received no later than the 10 days after the election (Nov. 16). Absentee ballots may also be delivered in person to boards of elections by the close of the polls on Election Day. They may not be returned at polling locations.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.