COLUMBUS, Ohio — Early voting in Ohio begins on Tuesday, October 8, a day after voter registration closes. Here is how to make sure you are ready to cast your ballot.
Next week: We'll publish our master guide on everything you need to know for the November election in Ohio.
On Friday, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections did its routine tests of their tabulating equipment. Director Tony Perlatti went through the whole process — from casting your vote, to submitting your ballot, to how it's securely handled and counted.
"There is a lot of unfounded myths about the machines," Perlatti said. "The machines are solid, the machines are good, and we've been using machines for a long, long time."
But before you can insert your ballot — you need to make sure your registration is up to date.
"Now is the time to take action if you've been putting it off," Mike West, director of outreach for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections said.
Every few years, the voter rolls are purged. Just this summer, Sec. of State Frank LaRose removed nearly 160,000 Ohioans.
Advocates for individuals experiencing homelessness had asked Ohio not to move forward with their scheduled voter purge before the election but were ignored.
If you change your mailing address, don't vote for four years and don’t respond to letters from your BOE, your voter status could be canceled. Even if you don’t move but don't vote for six years, you could also be eliminated.
"We suggest that everybody, whether they think they might be purged or might be current on our roles to go ahead and spend a couple of minutes on our website looking up their voter information," West said.
How you can make sure you're still registered
You can check your voter status by going to vote.ohio.gov.
Also, the full list of canceled registrations is at the Registration Readiness website, which is available here.. You can also go to your local BOE or give them a call to ask about your status.
You can reinstate your ability to vote by re-registering, which can be done here. You can also go to the local BOE or give it a call to ask about your status. If you've moved, you should update your registration, as well.
"Go out, exercise your right to vote," Perlatti said. "It is a simple process, but it's so important, so critical."
Ohio's deadline to register is on Monday, Oct. 7. Visit your BOE by 9 p.m. or go online to register.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
