Early in-person voting for the November 3 general election continues this week in Portage County, with voters casting ballots at the Portage County Board of Elections, 449 South Meridian Street in Ravenna. The board office is the county’s only early in-person voting location, and weekday hours run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, October 23.
The schedule expands from here. Early voting is open Saturday, October 24, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., then moves to longer days in the final week: Monday, October 26, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, October 27, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, October 28 through Friday, October 30, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voting continues Saturday, October 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, November 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There is no early in-person voting on Monday, November 2. On Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, polls across Portage County are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters who are in line by 7:30 p.m. stay in line and vote.
Portage County voters who prefer to vote by mail face a hard deadline next week. Absentee ballot applications must be received by the Board of Elections by Tuesday, October 27. Completed absentee ballots can be returned in person to the board office, placed in the drop box at the Portage County Administration Building in Ravenna, or mailed, and must reach the board by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Ohio law requires voters who appear in person to show accepted identification, such as an Ohio driver’s license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card, or a military ID. Voters should state their full name and current address when they check in, whether they vote early in Ravenna or at their polling place on Election Day.
Portage County is home to Kent and Ravenna and to Kent State University, and its November 3 ballot carries the statewide races and issues facing all Ohio voters alongside county and local contests and questions decided by Portage County communities.
With the final full week of early voting about to begin, election officials encourage voters not to wait for the longest lines. Casting a ballot this week in Ravenna takes advantage of the shorter weekday hours before the expanded final-week schedule — and before the October 27 absentee application deadline closes the mail option.
Photo: JonRidinger, CC BY 3.0