Early voting in Ohio kicks off Wednesday

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Tuesday marks four weeks until election day and early voting begins in Ohio Wednesday. If you can’t make it to the polls on November 8th, it will soon be your time to cast your vote.

LaVera Scott, the director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said voters here in Ohio are lucky to have one of the most gracious early voting periods in the country spanning four weeks long.

Scott emphasized the importance of voting.

“So votes count period, whether you’re voting on election day, whether you’re voting early, absentee, by mail, in person, or if you have to vote provisionally,” said Scott. “When you have a very low turnout such as in the primary election, eight percent. So you have a room full of 100 people and eight people in that room made a decision for the other 92.”

You can vote in person at your local board of elections all the way up until Monday, November 7th, the day before the general election. If you plan on voting early, you can request your absentee ballot up to three days before the election, which is November 5th.

For the next three weeks, all Ohio boards of elections will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday so voters can turn in their ballots. The last week before the election, they’ll be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. and will be open the weekend of November 5th as well.

If you plan on mailing in your ballot, make sure it’s postmarked the day before the election.

Scott said that absentee voting makes it easy to vote at a time that is convenient for you instead of on November 8th.

“Absentee voting in person didn’t start until 2008, and each year it has definitely increased,” said Scott. “I think that’s due to the fact that people realize it’s available, they realize they can do it at their convenience, and they realize that an absentee vote, just like any other vote, is going to be counted. So I believe as people become more confident in the system that the rate will continue to increase.”

Scott said that any method of voting is great as long as you get out and vote.

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