ELECTION DAY 2021: 3 things you need to know before voting today

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for those who did not cast an early vote. More than 7,500 votes in Butler County have been cast in early voting, which is already nearly 1,700 more early votes cast than the 2019 local-year election. There are still 1,250 vote-by-mail ballots that could be delivered to the Butler County Board of Elections to be counted.

Before heading out to the polls, check out the Journal-News 2021 Voter Guide, which has information on key races. Visit www.journal-news.com/list/2021-voter-guide for the guide.

FIND YOUR POLLING LOCATION

Whether a first-time voter or an experienced voter, election officials advise double-checking voting locations. Polling locations can change from election to election.

Visit elections.bcohio.gov and select the “Voter Tools” tab to find not only where you cast your ballot, but also your voter registration status,

VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS

Voters who have not turned in their vote-by-mail ballot must hand-deliver them to the secured dropbox at the Butler County Board of Election, 1802 Princeton Road, Hamilton, by 7:30 p.m. today. All vote-by-mail ballots must have been postmarked by Monday in order to be counted. Late-arriving mailed ballots with a Nov. 1 postmark will be counted if they are received within 10 days after Election Day.

Voters who requested a vote-by-mail ballot and decide to vote on Election Day will be required to fill out a provisional ballot. This is done to ensure the vote-by-mail ballot wasn’t also cast. Provisional ballots are not counted on Election Day, but they are included in the election’s official count later this month.

Vote-by-mail ballots will not be accepted at polling locations.

VOTER ID

Identification must be presented before anyone can vote on Election Day, just as it was required to cast a vote-by-mail ballot or cast a ballot at the elections office ahead of today.

There are several types of identification that are acceptable, including a photo or military ID, utility bill, bank statement, a government check, paycheck or any other government document.

For a complete list of documents, and additional explanations and exceptions, visit www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/id-requirements.

ELECTION 2021: WHAT TO KNOW

Voters who want to cast a ballot on Election Day can do so at their polling location from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today. Visit elections.bcohio.gov to find polling locations.

If voters did not mail their vote-by-mail ballot by Monday, they can hand-deliver them to the Butler County Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. today. Polling locations cannot accept vote-by-mail ballots.

For more information, such as finding where to vote on Election Day, visit elections.bcohio.gov.

SOURCE: Butler County Board of Elections