With only 83 days until to election day, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, along with the Centers for Disease Control and the Ohio Department of Health have issued requirements and recommendations to the state's board of elections.

The state will be offering three different ways to vote: by mail; early in-person during the four weeks preceding election day which will include evenings and weekends; and in-person on Nov. 3. Additionally, boards of elections will be providing curbside voting and will have a secure drop box at every board of elections for voters not wanting to enter the polling location. 

According to Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a press conference from the capital, there won't be many changes to voting that people have already grown accustomed too. 

Absentee ballot request forms will be sent out around Labor Day weekend, but LaRose stresses those forms should be sent in as soon as possible, registered voters can also request a ballot by heading to https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/ .  

All absentee ballots have to be postmarked by November 2 or dropped off to a county board of elections by November 2. 

LaRose also spoke to the safety of absentee ballots and highlighted how Ohioans can track their absentee ballot. Registered voters can just head to voteohio.gov/track to track their ballot once it's been mailed in. 

According to LaRose Ohio's absentee voters usually comprise up to 25% of registered voters. 

Early in-person voting will see no changes with 4 weeks of early voting leading up to election day. 

There, of course, won't be any changes to the dates of early in-person voting or Election Day itself. The only changes you'll notice at the ballot box are a number of sanitization efforts to keep voters safe. 

The Ohio Voting Safety Plan, which was issued by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Wednesday, Aug. 12, offers guidance for county boards of elections to keep their voters and election officials safe. The 48 point plan includes guidance on:

 
  • Routine cleaning of voting machines and e-pollbooks
  • Mask requirements and regular hand washing for all poll workers
  • Social distancing recommendations
  • Making curbside voting available

You can read the full Ohio Voting Safety Plan by clicking here.