About 60,000 Hamilton County voters have a new place to cast in-person ballots in the May 5 primary election.
That’s because the county’s Board of Elections closed 37 polling locations, reducing the total at 244.
“With more and more voters taking advantage of voting early … and continuing to vote by mail, we just are not seeing as many people voting on Election Day than we did in the past,” said Sherry Poland, Board of Elections director.
The county closed sites open to voters from just one or two precincts, reassigning them to locations with multiple precincts. It expects polling locations to remain at 244.
Not all 60,000 voters with new polling sites will be impacted, of course, since some will sit out this election and some will have already voted.
Here’s what you need to know if you are voting this season.
Check your postcard if you are voting in person
Hamilton County voters should have already received a postcard in the mail listing their polling location – whether it changed or not.
“We thought to eliminate confusion, it would be best to just send every registered voter in the county one of those postcards,” Poland said.
Voters can also confirm their polling place on the Board of Elections website.
If they still show up at a shuttered polling spot on Election Day, yard signs will tell them where to vote. “The hope is that the voter will see that even before they get out of their car,” Poland said.
Voters can also cast in-person ballots early, voting at the Board of Elections building through May 3. It is located in Norwood at 4700 Smith Road. Additionally, they can request a mail-in ballot through April 28. It must be returned by 7:30 p.m. on May 5.
More details about advance voting options are listed on the board’s site.
Other polling sites remain largely unchanged
Hamilton County’s Board of Elections is the only one in Greater Cincinnati consolidating polling spots for May.
In Ohio, the totals are unchanged in Warren County, with 56; and Butler County, with 82. Clermont County will be down one to 48.
In Northern Kentucky, Kenton County will have 33, about its usual number. The few voters who were assigned new locations got a letter about it, said Gabrielle Summe, the board chair there. But Kenton now allows voters to cast ballots at any polling site. “I let people go to whatever works for them,” Summe said.
Boone County remains unchanged with 47 polling locations and Campbell County 33.
As in Ohio, each county’s Board of Elections website provides information about early and by-mail voting.
Vote May 5 in Ohio, May 19 in Kentucky
Voting runs 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 5 in Ohio.
In Kentucky, the primary is May 19, with polls open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: You may have a new voting location in Hamilton County. Here’s why
Reporting by Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
