Clark County elections board: Absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at your precinct

Cooper Tirey, 3, picks out a “I Voted” sticker for his grandmother and she drops her ballot in the red, white and blue ballot box at the Clark County Board of Elections Friday. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Cooper Tirey, 3, picks out a “I Voted” sticker for his grandmother and she drops her ballot in the red, white and blue ballot box at the Clark County Board of Elections Friday. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

The Clark County Board of Elections are warning voters of misinformation that has been distributed in Ohio about Tuesday’s election.

Clark County Board of Elections Director Jason Baker said some people are being told that absentee ballots will be accepted Tuesday at the voter’s precinct. That’s wrong, Baker said.

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“The voting locations are not allowed to accept absentee ballots,” Baker said. “They have to be dropped off at our office before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday or they will be counted as late.”

The Clark County Board of Elections office is at the Springview Government Center at 3130 E. Main St. in Springfield.

If a voter wants to vote with an absentee ballot, he or she must either mail the ballot on or before Monday or drop it off at the office, Baker said. There is a ballot box at the center where ballots can be submitted, he said.

Election officials check and collect ballots regularly from the box, Baker said, including right at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night when polls close. Any ballot mailed or dropped off after the deadlines may not be counted and would need to be voted on by the election board, Baker said.

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Should someone try to submit an absentee ballot at a precinct on Tuesday, Baker said, that ballot will not be accepted there. Also, if the person decides he or she wants to vote at that precinct instead of dropping it off at the office after requesting an absentee ballot, that person would have to fill out a provisional ballot.

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