CLEVELAND — As early voting is expanded heading into the final week before the Nov. 8 Election, with your local boards of election open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday with hours this weekend as well, election officials are doing their part to make sure that voters are educated about the process and aware of how it works.
At the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Betsy Stueber of Cleveland Heights was among those taking advantage of something that only 19 states offer — no-excuse early voting — dropping off her ballot at the BOE's drop box.
"I dropped my ballot off, I'm excited that the vote's in and I trust this box implicitly,” she said.
Trust is the operative word. The drop box is safe, it is secure, and if you choose not to mail your ballot in, it is the only place you can drop off your vote-by-mail ballot. One of the myths is you can take it to your polling place — you can't.
"You can drop off your vote-by-mail ballot here on Election Day, but you cannot drop it off at your local polling location,” said Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Deputy Director Tony Kaloger. “They are not able to accept it. If you do, you'll still be able to vote provisional."
A provisional ballot is one you cast when your eligibility is in question. Once your eligibility is verified, then the ballot will be counted, which is another myth those at the board of elections often hear.
"These ballots always count,” said Director Anthony Perlatti. “So a lot of times there's myths that only if it's a tie or only if it's close do we bring these into the mix, that's not true."
To help clear up confusion, the Cuyahoga County BOE has a Rumor Central page where they tackle the myths and facts related to every aspect of the voting process, like the myth that one party can influence the process. Every aspect of voting and the handling of votes is required to include both a Democrat and a Republican.
"In a time where sometimes it seems like Republicans and Democrats can't agree what day of the week it is in Washington, at your county Board of Elections and 87 others, it's half Republicans and half Democrats working together,” said Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Election leaders also want to make sure every voter knows that every vote counts. That's important to remember, while statewide races are usually decided by thousands of votes, local races often are not. Consider this — in Cuyahoga County alone over the last six years, nine races have ended in a tie, two more were decided by only a vote. Across the state, there were 18 ties last year, most decided then by a coin flip.
"And so making sure that every voice can be heard and that every legitimate, honest ballot is counted is a big priority for all of us,” said LaRose.
They also want to remind voters who still would like to vote by mail that while the legal deadline to request a ballot is Noon on Saturday, Nov. 5, the functional deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 2. This allows the BOE staff time to process the request and the Postal Service to get it to you. All vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 7, the day before Election Day.
