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VOTING PROCEDURES: ON ELECTION DAY
Where Do I Vote?
The address is on your voter's card. Can't find your card? Call the: Board of Elections at 632-7000, or visit their website at http://www.hamilton-co.org/BOE/ or call the League of Women Voters at 281-8683 or visit our Hamilton County Voter website at www.smartvoter.org.
When are the polls open?
6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Signing in:
- Go to the precinct listed on the card you received from the Board of Elections. For example -- Cincinnati 6-C. (Some polling places have more than one precinct at the same location.)
- You will be asked to provide proof of identity before voting. You may use a current and valid photo identification card, (for example your driver's license), military ID, copy of a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or government document showing your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use the notice the Board of Elections mailed to you.) If you do not show the required proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot. (See below for Provisional Ballot Info)
- Sign the poll book as directed. You will be given a paper ballot.
How do I establish which party's ballot I am entitled to vote?
If you are a new voter, you may vote the primary ballot on any political party. If you voted the primary ballot of a political party in previous year(s) and this year want to vote the ballot of another party, then you change your affiliation by signing a statement to that effect when you vote.
May I vote on ballot issues in a primary without declaring my politics?
Yes, you may vote on issues without voting for the candidates of a political party by requesting a questions-and-issues ballot.
May a voter receive assistance in voting?
Persons with a physical or mental disability or who do not read in English may be assisted by anyone of their own choice, except for an employer or his/her agent, a union officer or a candidate whose name appears on the ballot. The voter may be assisted by two poll workers of opposing parties. No one who assists a voter may disclose any information about how that person voted.
Accommodations for Voters with Disabilities:
The Secretary of State's office maintains a phone line to provide information on registration and voting for deaf citizens. The number is TDD (614) 466-0562. Polling places are to be free of barriers to disabled persons. Voting accessibility in every polling place is assured. If necessary, election officials belonging to different political parties will provide assistance so that the voter may vote in the vehicle that brought the individual to the polling place, or at the door of the polling place.
IN THE POLLING BOOTH
- Hamilton County uses the Hart eScan, an optical/digital scan voting machine. If you are not familiar with its use, ask a precinct official for help.
- Take your ballot to an open voting booth and read your ballot. Ballots list the names of all candidates for an office under the title of that office; the party designation is printed with each name. In the General Election, candidates for judgeships, state or local boards of education, and municipal or township offices appear without party designation. On questions and issues your choice will usually be either: YES or NO; FOR or AGAINST.
- Using the pen that is provided, completely fill in the box to the left of your choice on the ballot.
- Candidates and issues are listed on both the FRONT AND BACK of your ballot.
- Make sure you read the directions concerning the number of candidates to vote for in each category. Some offices have "field" races where you may vote for more than one candidate. (For example: you may vote for up to nine candidates for Cincinnati City Council.)
- You do not have to vote for every office or every issue for your ballot to be counted.
- When you finish voting, take your ballot to the eScan machine and insert it into the ballot feed slot located on the top of the machine. Wait while your ballot is scanned.
- If your ballot is properly marked the eScan will accept your ballot and display a waving American flag on the screen next to the slot where you inserted the ballot. At this point you have completed the voting process.
- If there is a problem with your ballot, the machine will not accept it.
- An instruction message "Ballot not properly marked" will come up on the screen and the contest that needs attention will be listed. For example: "U.S. Representative Contest is Overvoted." This means you have voted for too many candidates in a particular race.
- If more than one contest has been marked incorrectly you will see the phrase "Next Contest" at the bottom of the screen with an arrow pointing to a button on the machine. Push the button to see the next contest.
- When finished viewing the screen(s), you may remove your ballot from the machine, take it to a poll worker and request a new ballot. OR you may choose to cast your ballot as is by following the instructions on the screen. You may ask a poll worker for help.
- When your completed ballot has been accepted, the screen will display a waving American flag and the message will state that your vote has been recorded.
- Voters with disabilities will use the Hart Intercivic eSlate electronic voting machine. Visually impaired or infirm voters may ask for help when voting.
YOU MAY ASK A POLL WORKER FOR HELP AT ANY TIME.
PROVISIONAL VOTING
If voter registration records have not been updated by either the voter or the county board of elections, Provisional Voting allows voters who would otherwise not be permitted to vote to cast a ballot and have their registration information later verified. Learn more here.
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