On May 9 the Oho Controlling Board, which handles adjustments to the state budget, approved a request from Secretary of State Frank LaRose to allocate $3 million for printing and sending out ballot applications. But “supply chain issues” delayed that past the June 30 end of the state’s fiscal year.
So on July 11 the controlling board agreed to reallocate that $3 million into the current fiscal year’s budget. That money doesn’t include funding for return postage, according to Rob Nichols, spokesman for LaRose’s office.
A partisan primary for state House and Senate seats will be held Aug. 2, but the general election is scheduled for Nov. 8. On the November ballot will be races for all statewide offices, all 99 state House and one-third of the 33 state Senate seats, all 15 U.S. House seats and one U.S. Senate seat, plus some local elections.
About two-thirds of Ohio’s 11.8 million people are registered to vote. People can also send in written applications for absentee ballots, but they require extensive information.
Information on absentee ballots, voting schedules, local boards of elections and more issues is available at www.ohiosos.gov.
Candidate names and issue items for the Nov. 8 ballot must be certified Aug. 30, according to the state’s election calendar. Ballots to active-duty military and overseas voters will be sent out Sept. 23.
The registration deadline to vote in the Nov. 8 election is Oct. 11. Regular absentee ballots can be sent out starting Oct. 12, the same day as early in-person voting begins.
Returned applications for absentee ballots must be received by noon Nov. 5 by boards of election. Absentee ballots sent back by some other method than U.S. Mail must be returned by the time polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 7 and arrive at boards of election no later than Nov. 18 to be counted.
Voting dates and times for August election
Early voting this week is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays
Week four (Monday, July 25 to Monday, Aug. 1):
- 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, July 25 to Friday, July 29
- 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 30
- 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 31
- 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1.
Election Day, Aug. 2: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Vote by mail: Applications for absentee ballots to be mailed for Aug. 2 election must be received by noon July 30 at your local board of elections. Though this is the deadline set in law, election officials warn that waiting until this deadline may make it hard to vote by mail because of delivery times.
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