“There are other different races that are highly important to our voters,” said Jeff Rezabek, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections. “And we would encourage them to make sure they see what’s on that ballot beforehand and be out there, being an educated voter.”
Officials from Montgomery, Greene, Butler, Warren, Preble and Miami counties met during a press conference Friday to discuss how they’re preparing for the primary election.
The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, with early voting beginning the next day.
In the 2020 primary election, nearly 19% of registered Montgomery County voters cast a ballot. Turnout was also 19% in Butler County, and 21% in Clark County.
No election official on Friday offered a voter turnout prediction for the March 19 primary. Rezabek said his county’s ballots will still feature multiple contested Statehouse, county and judicial races. These local races will help drive voter turnout come March.
But the general election will be a different story.
“Transitioning to November, we’re happy to have the election here in March,” he said. “That gives us plenty of time to prepare. But we do anticipate a large turnout later this year.”
2024 is Ohio’s first presidential election year to follow the passage of the state’s voter ID law, which requires people voting in-person to show an unexpired, government-issued photo ID card, according to Preble County Board of Elections Director Lisa Boggs.
Communication about the voting ID law and any changes to polling locations is crucial because many people only vote during elections that feature presidential candidates, she said. She urged all voters to check their polling locations on their local election boards’ websites.
Nicole Unzicker, the Butler County election board director, said Ohioans who lack unexpired photo ID can go to their Bureau of Motor Vehicles Office and receive a state ID card. Ohio state IDs are free to Ohioans who are 17 and older.
The voter ID law also extended an opportunity to young Ohioans. Students who are 17 and older, regardless of what grade they’re in, can serve as a poll worker, said Kenny Henning, a regional liaison for the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Interested volunteers for the Youth at the Booth program can contact their local election boards to sign up.
Ohio election officials saw high voter turnout in the past two election cycles, with statewide issues drawing in thousands of voters to their polling locations.
Warren County Board of Elections Director Brian Sleeth said election board workers are charging forward into the election year.
“It’s really hard to predict a vicious cycle of elections,” he said. “But we lean on each other and move on.”
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