COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio’s election chief says he is setting the hours and days in which residents can vote early for the primary election because the Legislature has failed to put uniform times into law.
Early voting hours for all 88 counties would primarily be regular business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, Secretary of State Jon Husted told a conference of local election officials Wednesday. Voters also can cast an early ballot from 8:00 a.m. to noon on the Saturday before the May 6 election.
An election specialist with the League of Women Voters of Ohio calls the hours insufficient.
Husted says the schedule reflects a proposal from the bipartisan Ohio Association of Election Officials.
“To date, the OAEO plan is the only voting schedule that has garnered Republican and Democratic support, balancing both access for the voter and the legitimate administrative and cost concerns for large, medium and small counties,” Husted said.
Husted, a Republican, and other statewide officeholders are up for election this November.
The days and hours for in-person absentee voting begin April 1:
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, April 1- 4
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday, April 7, (last day of voter registration)
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, April 8-11, Monday through Friday, April 14-May 2
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Saturday, May 3