Nearly 20,000 absentee ballots requested so far in Lake

As of Sept. 29, the Lake County Elections Board reports that 19,938 people have requested absentee ballots.

Meanwhile, the Geauga County Elections Board reports 9,490 people have requested absentee ballots

The ballots will begin being mailed out Oct. 12. Voters can begin returning the ballots, either by mail or at the Elections Board any time after they’re received.

Completed absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 7 (the day before the election) and arrive at the Elections Board within 10 days of Election Day in order to be counted. Ohio is one of only 12 states to allow late-arriving ballots to be counted.

The completed ballots can also be hand delivered to the Elections Board by 7:30 p.m., Nov. 8. Absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at polling locations.

If a person has requested an absentee ballot, they must vote that ballot regardless of whether or not circumstances change the reason for the absentee request.

Those who are voting via absentee ballots are encouraged mail them back as soon as possible.

The Lake County Elections Board now has a dropoff box on the front of its office at the corner of North Park Place and Main Street in Painesville.

Requests for absentee ballots, the ballots themselves and voter registration can all be put in the drop box.

The box will save people from trying to find parking spaces, Elections Board Director Jan Clair said.

To vote in the Nov. 8 election, people must register by Oct. 11. The Elections Board will keep its office at 105 Main St. in the Lake County Administration Building open until 9 p.m. on that date. Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Voter registration forms are available at the following locations:

• The office of the Secretary of State or any of the 88 county boards of elections

• The office of any deputy registrar of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles

• Offices of designated agencies that provide public assistance or disability programs • Public libraries • Public high schools or vocational schools

• Office of a County Treasurer

• Lake County Board of Elections website www.lakeelections.com.