XENIA — Early voting for the Tuesday, May 8 primary election has begun.
According to Greene County Board of Elections Director Llyn McCoy, 357 people have voted in-person already as of 2 p.m. April 17.
The office at 551 Ledbetter Road is open for early voting on the following days leading up to the election:
– Week Two: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, April 16- Friday, April 20
– Week Three: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, April 23- Friday, April 27
– Week Four: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 30- Friday, May 4
– 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 5
– 1-5 p.m. Sunday, May 6
– 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, May 7
Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, May 8. Voters can use the “Voter Lookup” tool on the board’s website to find precincts and polling locations.
Residents also have the option to vote absentee. To request a ballot, voters can download an application through the county’s board of elections website under the “Early In-Person/Absentee Information” tab. Requests must be mailed, not faxed, to Greene County Board of Elections by noon on Saturday, May 5.
Alternatively, voters may write a letter to the board which includes name, address, address to send the ballot to if different, telephone number, birth date, Ohio’s driver’s license number or last four digits of Social Security Number, election for which the ballot is being requested, party affiliation (primary only), a statement that the individual is a qualified voter, and signature of voter.
If mailed, absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election in order to be counted, according to the secretary of state’s website. Ballots can also be returned in-person to the Greene County Board of Elections before the close of polls on Election Day. Absentee ballots are the first votes counted on Election Night.
McCoy said numbers in the county total to 909 absentee applications by mail and 73 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) applications so far.
New voters who are currently age 17 but who will be 18 by the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 6 can vote for candidates to be nominated to the general election ballot at the primary. However, those voters cannot vote on issues or state or central committee candidates as those races are decided at the primary.
McCoy said the county has 177 registered voters listed as 17. That number is a little higher this year, with 80-100 being the average in Greene County.
Voter registration has closed.
McCoy said she hopes more than 25 percent of registered voters will come out to vote.
Greene County Board of Elections is open regularly Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents can visit www.co.greene.oh.us/128/Board-of-Elections to find more information.
