Other preparations highlighted for Nov. 8 election
Ahead of the upcoming general election Nov. 8, staff of the Logan County Board of Elections are busy with preparations, including releasing the details on changes to the precincts within the city of Bellefontaine.
Board of Elections Director Adam Brannon reports the precinct changes are based on the 2020 Census and the the redrawing of the city ward lines by the Bellefontaine City Council earlier this year.
Brannon related that the city ward lines were re-drawn so the number of active and registered voters in the wards are “fairly equal.”
Among the changes, he said Third Ward B experienced growth. That area was previously the ward with the smallest amount of active voters, 508, before the re-drawing. Now the number of active voters in Third Ward B is 735.
Second Ward B, the area with the most active voters, previously was at 1,188 before the re-drawing, and it now stands at 1,098 active voters.
Lake Avenue was one of the previous dividing lines between wards, and now there are some instances of overlap and variation with that street, Brannon noted.
The board of elections director said for the average voter who plans to cast their ballot this November, the precinct changes in Bellefontaine won’t make a big impact, since all of the voters in the city vote in one location — at Bellefontaine High School. They will give their address to election workers and then be directed to their correct precinct.
A map of the new precincts, with a break down by street name, is available via a link on the “Logan County Board of Elections” Facebook page, or by visiting the following site: https://davesredistricting.org/join/594767dc-ced8-4dc7-b892-992ff796797b.
In addition to the precinct changes, the Board of Elections recently has mailed postcards to every registered voter in Logan County to notify them of their polling locations for November.
The vast majority of voters will be returning to the polling locations where they voted in November 2021 and May 2022. (In the August 2022 primary, all voting was conducted at the Board of Elections office; therefore, the Board of Elections is required to notify all voters affected by these changes, Brannon said.)
The only voters not returning to their previous polling location are those voters who are registered in McArthur Township and the Village of Huntsville. Those voters will now vote at the Huntsville United Methodist Church, 6611 Fruit St., Huntsville, instead of the McArthur Township Building on County Road 37.
In other upcoming election news, Brannon said this is the first time that Logan County will be using print on-demand ballots.
“We’ll be one of the first locations in the state to use the print on-demand ballots,” he explained Monday. “After voters check in, their ballot will be printed for them. “
The board of elections director explained that this change will be a savings both financially and in storage space.
“This is a way that we can cut down on costs and not needing as many pre-printed ballots, as pre-printed ballots cost us 35 cents per sheet.
“It also will help us greatly with storage concerns, as any of the pre-printed ballots we don’t use we have to keep in storage for a set period of time.”
Board of Elections officials note that the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election is Oct. 11. In addition, anyone who has moved since they last voted and has not done a change of address with the Board of Elections should do so by the same deadline.
Registration forms are available at the Logan County Board of Elections, 225 S. Main St., Bellefontaine, where special voter registration hours are 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 11.
Regular hours at the Board of Elections are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Voter registrations are also accepted by the following authorized agencies during their regular business hours: Knowlton Library and Logan County District Libraries; Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Department of Job and Family Services; Logan County Women Infants and Children Clinic; Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties; Logan County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Logan County Treasurer and Ohio Secretary of State.
Early voting for the Nov. 8 election begins Oct. 12. Early voting hours are available on the Board of Election’s website, https://www.boe.ohio.gov/logan/.
If you have any questions, e-mail the Board of Elections at logan, or call the office at (937) 599-7255.