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Absentee info to be mailed |
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Thursday, 04 September 2008 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
WAPAKONETA — Auglaize County voters this week should begin receiving information in the mail about voting absentee.
The Elections Board is choosing to send the information to both educate voters about the option that all voters now have and to answer routine questions.
In addition to postage paid forms to apply for an absentee ballot, the county’s 29,060 registered voters also are expected to receive information about their voting precincts and polling locations for the Nov. 4 presidential election, Elections Board Director Carolyn Campbell said.
She said anyone can vote absentee and beginning Oct. 1 absentee ballots may be cast in the Elections Board Office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Voters may cast ballots at the Elections Board until the day before the election.
“We will mail the ballots to them to vote absentee and they can avoid the lines,” Campbell said.
She advised that since every registered voter in the county should be receiving a form requesting an absentee ballot — the office plans to send them out Friday — that if they don’t receive them by the end of next week, they should call the office at 419-739-6720 to make sure there are no problems with their voter status or address.
Polling locations scheduled to change with the November election include Logan Township which is making a move to the Bethlehem Christian Union Church instead of the township house, Union Township and Uniopolis which are moving to the Uniopolis Fire Department instead of part of them at the township house, Cridersville east and west precincts which will both be voting at Otterbein Cridersville (with parking in the back) instead of the eastern precinct voting in village hall, and Wayne Township and Waynesfield which will be voting at the Ed and Minnie White Public Library instead of the Methodist Church.
Board members are still working to get all sites completely compliant with handicap accessibility standards by November as well.
“Usually we have a couple hundred people vote absentee,” Campbell said. “We’re anticipating several thousand, double the couple thousand that voted absentee in the 2004 presidential election.
“More people seem to be voting absentee in every election,” she said.
She said Elections Board members decided it would be a good idea with so many people opting to vote absentee to assist in the process and educate those who may not be familiar with it.
“We hope to get more people to vote absentee,” Campbell said. “We hope we can help answer their questions.”
Even if someone chooses to come to the office in the Auglaize County Administration Building to cast their absentee ballot, she said the application form, which is being mailed, will still be required.
“A lot of people vote absentee to save time and we want to help them save even more time,” Campbell said. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 September 2008 )
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