The Knox County Board of Elections Director shares with us about the upcoming election

We got the chance to talk with James Blazer, the Knox County Board of Elections Director! James tells us about how his team is prepared for the upcoming General Election.

He shares the exciting news about their new V.O.T.E.R vehicle.

He also tells us about early voting which is now open, how to prepare for the Write-In Candidates on your ballot, and how his team is sharing results through their website.

For more information about the Knox County Board of Elections click HERE!

Here are some important notes that we want to share with you:

• Acceptable forms of ID to vote include:
  • Ohio driver’s license, state ID card, or interim ID form issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
  • A United States passport or passport card
  • A U.S. military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card
• There are 81 different ballot styles for this election, meaning 81 different ballots based on precinct, various races and issues
• The Board of Elections must print out 100% + 1 (101%) of ballots for each election. Ohio State Laws require that they have a printed ballot for every registered voter plus 1!
  • There is a schedule for recycling these ballots. There is a special outside company that comes into Mount Vernon to take care of this recycling
• Ohio is a Paper State. Every vote has a paper trail.
• There is a chain of custody for people signing off for ballots at every stage and with every type of ballot. The chain of custody requires both a Democrat and Republican to be part of every step of the process.
• There are multiple ways to vote:
  • On Election Day at your assigned precinct
  • Absentee Voting by Mail
  • Early in-person voting at the Board of Elections
  • UOCAVA – for military or Knox County Registered voters who find themselves overseas during an election.
  • Safe At Home voting for mail-in ballots for someone in a domestic or dangerous situation
• Our Board of Elections offers voting to local nursing home residents, those currently in the Knox County Jail that do not have a conviction and registered voters in the hospital.
• There is a State Dashboard that tracks mismatches within the voting systems. This state level checking will connect our Knox County database against other departments across the state to avoid duplication in votes.
• Anyone that has no voting or no petition signing for 6 years technically has no activity within the election system and is then taken out. So voter registration is necessary.
• On Election Day – BE PREPARED to WRITE IN the write-in candidates that you want to have your vote. Those write-in candidates are NOT listed on the ballot. You must write in their name on each type of ballot. Each precinct or voting location (including the Board of Elections) can show you a list of those candidates but cannot offer you a printed copy. You can take a picture on your phone and use it when you vote.
• On Election Day, the Knox County Board of Elections will update results on their website every 30 minutes starting at 7:30pm with Absentee votes.
• The Staff plans to stay late on Election night to count the write-in candidates for this ballot. Unofficial results will be included in the results on Election night.

Here are some important stats: