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Get Ready To Vote!


 

 

Next week, Americans may begin voting in the Nov. 3 general election.

In order to cast a ballot, a person must be a registered voter.

To be registered in Ohio, a person must: be a citizen of the United States, be 18 years old on or before the day of the general election, and be an Ohio resident for 30 days before the election.

In addition, a person may not be incarcerated in either a jail or prison for a felony conviction under any state or federal laws, may not have been declared incompetent for voting by a probate court, or have been permanently barred from voting for violating election laws.

Liz Stuart, deputy director of the Fulton County Board of Elections, said the last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 5.

The Board of Elections will be open until 9 pm to register potential voters on Monday.

Three Ways

There are three ways to cast a ballot in Ohio: by mail using an absentee ballot; early in-person voting at the Board of Elections, or voting at a polling place on Election Day.

To vote by mail using an absentee ballot, a person must request a ballot from the Board of Elections by U.S. Mail. Applications for absentee ballots were mailed to every registered Ohio voter by the Ohio Secretary of State.

Voters may also download and print a ballot request form from the Voteohio.gov website, or even write their own requests; instructions are on Voteohio.gov.

They can also ask for an absentee ballot online, or by calling the Board of Elections office.

Once the form is completed, it must be mailed to the Fulton County Board of Elections for persons voting in Fulton County, or Henry County Board of Elections for Henry County registered voters.

The last day the board will act on absentee ballot requests is noon on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Stuart said once an absentee ballot request is received, it is processed, then sent to a Cleveland-based printing firm within 24 hours.

That company will print the absentee ballot for the voter’s precinct and mail it to them. The first absentee ballots will be mailed Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Once a voter receives and fills out the absentee ballot, the ballot should be returned to the county Board of Elections as soon as possible.

It can be returned by mail using one 55¢ postage stamp.

To be counted, a mail-in absentee ballot must be postmarked no later than the day before the election (Nov. 2), and received by the Board of Elections no later than 10 days after Election Day.

Absentee ballots can be returned in person or can be placed in a secure drop box located at the Board of Elections office no later than 7:30 pm on Election Day.

Security

Melanie Gilders, director of the Fulton County Board of Elections, said a system is in place to prevent voter fraud.

When an absentee ballot is printed for a voter, an individual ballot number is printed on the return envelope.

When the voter returns the ballot, Gilders said workers at the Board of Elections check in the ballot using the ballot number.

When the ballots are counted, a tab where the number is printed is torn off and thrown away, preserving the secrecy of the ballot.

If a voter has already cast an absentee ballot and then attempts to vote in person at the polls on Election Day, the electronic poll book will recognize that the individual has already cast a ballot and will alert poll workers.

Gilders said the voter will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, and the issue will be investigated and corrected later.

In-Person Early Voting

A registered voter may cast a ballot in person prior to Election Day by going to the Board of Elections office.

Those coming to the Board of Elections office must wear a mask.

Election Day

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls in Ohio open at 6:30 am and close at 7:30 pm.

Stuart said no polling places have changed this year.