Several changes have been made to the voting laws. Mail-in ballots must be received by the Board of Elections (BOE) by 7:30 p.m. on election day. If you vote by mail, you can use the “ballot-tracking” function on the Secretary of State’s (SOS) webpage to monitor the processing of your ballot: (https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections).
BOEs are now required to cross-check the voter information they have on file with the information in other databases. Over 100 voters in Wood County have a data mismatch, and they should receive a notice telling them to fix the error at least 14 days before the election. If this is not fixed, voters will be given a provisional ballot when they go to vote. You can check to see if you have a data mismatch by using the “voter lookup” function at the SOS webpage. You should see a notice if you have a data mismatch.
The deadline to register to vote in the May primary is April 6. You need to update your voter registration every time you move. If you have an Ohio driver’s license or Ohio state ID number and a Social Security number, you can register online at the SOS webpage. Did you know that 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the time of the November election can register to vote now and vote for the primary candidates? They can’t vote for any issues on the primary ballot.
Newly registered voters should keep checking the voter lookup webpage until they see that their registration is processed. Newly naturalized citizens should contact the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to make sure they are identified as citizens in that database.
Happy Voting!
Debbie Dalke
Bowling Green
