MOUNT VERNON — Beginning Feb. 8, the Knox County Board of Elections has been distributing and accepting ballots for the March 4 election. This means that Knox County residents can request an absentee ballot by mail or in person, and can deliver it to the board of elections by either of the two methods until March 3, the day before the election.
According to Rita Yarman, director of the Knox County Board of Elections, the process has been named “No-Fault Absentee Voting” in the state of Ohio. The reason for the name is that now a voter does not have to have a reason to vote absentee as in the past. In the last presidential election year, to vote absentee a person had to be over 62, have a disability, or be out of the county on Election Day. However, this is not the case for this election year.
Yarman encourages people who might be busy or have commitments on March 4 to mail in requests or just to stop by the board of election office, 117 E. High St., to receive an absentee ballot. In addition, having a ballot beforehand lets voters do extra research for other elections that they may or may not have been aware of, noted Yarman. A lot of people are doing this “for the convenience of it,” said Yarman.
When arriving at office of the board of elections, voters are required to fill out a short form, and are given the option to complete the ballot in the office or to take it home, with the option to mail in the ballot or return it to the office on a later date. Additionally, voters can bring absentee ballot request forms for family members, and the board of elections will mail the absentee ballot to the family member. Voters cannot take absentee ballots for family members with them as current election laws to not permit this.