Know what awaits you on the ballot and learn other tips for this Nov. 8 election

Election Day is coming up Tuesday, Nov. 8. There’s a lot to learn about what candidates and issues are on the ballot, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the League of Women Voters have a few tips to be prepared before you hit the polls.  

Early voting is now underway at local county boards of election across the state. The Secretary of State’s office shared that requests for early in-person and absentee ballots now total 1,076,049, a 1.8 percent increase over the same point in the 2018 gubernatorial statewide election. As a part of that total, 135,889 Ohioans have now voted early in-person and 940,160 have requested an absentee ballot by mail. 

“With two weeks until Election Day, any eligible Ohio voter still planning to vote absentee should mail their request in as soon as possible,” said LaRose. “Our bipartisan county boards of elections are working hard to conduct the proper checks and get ballots mailed out as quickly as possible. Ohioans choosing to vote by mail can always track their ballot at VoteOhio.gov/Track.” 

Over the course of the early voting period, Ohio voters will benefit from nearly 200 hours of early voting opportunities for the 2022 General Election. Ohio is one of 19 states that allows voting on a Saturday and one of just six states that allows early voting on a Sunday. Ohio’s early voting period is 21 percent longer than the national average. 

Voters can check early voting days and hours by clicking here. 

Ohioans have utilized absentee voting for two decades, and that has allowed Ohio to put in place both the laws and processes necessary to make absentee voting secure against fraud. Learn more about Ohio’s election security process on the Secretary of State’s website. 

Voters can find information about their polling locations and download sample ballots from the VoteOhio.gov website. There are many other partisan-based resources to identify candidates and create ballot sheets to use when voting. Another nonpartisan, nonprofit organization supporting voting accessibility is the League of Women Voters (LWV).  

Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund  in October 2006, VOTE411.org is a “one-stop-shop” for election-related information. It provides nonpartisan, multilingual information to the public with both general and state-specific information, including ballot measure information; factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races; general information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye; and tips for voting, like voter qualifications and how to use voting machines. “An important component of VOTE411.org is the polling place locator, which enables users to type in their address and retrieve the poll location for the voting precinct in which that address is located,” said Jen Miller, LWV Ohio executive director. “The League has found that this is among the most sought after information in the immediate days leading up to, and on, Election Day.”