The primary election has passed and the next general election is still a few months away, but that doesn’t mean you should put off registering to vote.
In order to vote in any election, voters must be registered 30 days in advance and registration can be completed in a number of ways.
“You can register several different ways,” Union County Board of Elections Deputy Director Brandon Clay said. “The first one is online, you can now register online in Ohio. Second is by mail. You print off the form from the Secretary of State’s website. The third is through designated agencies.”
Designated agencies include most libraries, auditors, city offices and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. To register using these methods, the list of items needed is minimal.
“You’ll need your first name, last name, address, birthday, driver’s license number or the last four digits of your social security number,” Union County Board of Elections Director Tina LaRoche said. “You’ll have to check the boxes that you are or will be 18 at the time of the general election and you are a U.S. citizen.”
When the form is completed, it’s entered into the system and voters will receive a card in the mail confirming their address and providing them with their precinct. The information on the form is then checked with the Social Security Administration and the BMV to be sure all information matches.
“If it isn’t correct — there might be a typo, mismatched information or an error with your name — it comes back to us as an unconfirmed status,” Clay said. “We must correct the information.”
When registrants check the box for citizenship, the board of elections takes it at face value, trusting the person is not lying, Clay said.
“We don’t have the resources because of security and privacy reasons to check that,” he said. “The record goes to the statewide voter registration database… They have resources they use.”
When the databases register issues between the filed documents and other information in the system, the state and the prosecutor are the ones who handle the case according to LaRoche.
“The only involvement we’ve had (in the recent false voter registration cases) is providing documentation,” she said.
On the topic of false voter registration, Sam Rossi, Press Secretary for the Ohio Secretary of State, said the new online system makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat.
“Voter fraud does exist but it’s rare,” he said.
As for already registered and legal voters, it’s important to remember the information in the database must always stay up-to-date.
“Anytime a voter moves or has a change in name, they need to update their voter registration,” Clay said. “For moving out-of-state permanently, you have to fill out the Ohio voter registration cancellation. If your move is temporary, like for college, you can keep it here in Ohio.”
The cancellation form must be mailed or brought in to the county board of elections; however, name and address changes can be done online.
“Five or six years ago we started online address change and half a million people have used it,” Rossi said. “About one-and-a-half years ago we launched online voter registration. More than 25,000 people have taken advantage of it.”
Keeping information updated is important for many reasons according to Rossi. Updated address information allows the state to mail important information and also determine polling locations. Ballots contain local issues as well, so voters must be sure to change their address even if they move within the county. Additionally, updated address information ensures voters stay in the database.
“If you are consistent in voting and don’t change (your address), your record will stay active,” Clay said.
However, Rossi pointed out the Supreme Court upheld the process used to maintain the Statewide Voter Registration Database in Husted v. A Philip Randolph Institute on Monday. The process allows the state to send cards to voters’ addresses to confirm their registered address and if voters do not respond and do not vote for four years or in the next two general elections for federal office they can then be removed from the database.
If voters are concerned about their status they can check online or call the local board of elections to see if they are still active prior to voting on Election Day.
The process of voting is easy according to Clay.
“When you show up at the polls you need a valid form of ID, like a driver’s license, military ID, utility bill, or government check,” he said. “It’s a really simple process.”
For people unable to make it to the polls on Election Day, an absentee ballot can be requested on January 1 or 90 days before the election, according to the Ohio Secretary of State website.
Early in-person voting is also possible at certain polling locations the day after registration closes. Additionally, overseas military personnel can vote in their local elections.
“When Husted came in to office, he heard it was difficult for military overseas to vote,” Rossi said. “We launched Military Ready to Vote, it’s easier than before for active personnel to request a ballot, cast it and track their ballot after it’s sent in.”
As for when elections occur, Clay said there is a typical guideline they follow.
“A good rule of thumb is every November, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday, there’s a general election,” he said. “Every May is when there’s a primary — unless it’s presidential and then that’s March. There’s always potential for a special election in August, but there’s no candidates.”
Prior to any election, on the day of the deadline for registration, the board of elections will have extended hours for people trying to get their forms in on time.
“Our deadline for the November 6 election is October 9,” LaRoche said. “We always have extended hours that night and we’ll be open until 9 p.m. The first absentee ballots get sent out October 10.”
For any questions regarding the voting process, voters are encouraged to visit the Secretary of State’s website or contact their county board of elections.