There are currently 127,559 people registered to vote in Licking County, according to the Licking County Board of Elections website.

It says that 90,644 of them are not registered with a party, 27,923 are registered Republicans, and 8,992 are registered as Democrats.

If you are not among the nearly 128,000 registered voters here, Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election, and the Licking County Board of Elections is open until 9 p.m. on Oct. 7 to accept registrations.

You also can register online at VoteOhio.gov.

If you haven’t voted in a few election cycles, it would be worth checking to see if you are still registered. You can do that online by going to the board of elections website and clicking on “Am I registered?” and type in your name.

After 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, it’ll be too late, and you will not be able to vote in this election.

What do I need to register?

Name

Date of Birth

Ohio Address

Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number

The Secretary of State’s office says that iIf you do not have any portion of the required information, follow this link to update your voting address using the Ohio Secretary of State’s paper form (PDF). After completing this form, you must sign it and take it to your county board of elections.

For those who are registered, here are some things to know about voting:

How can I vote early?

Ohio ballots were mailed Sept. 20 to military personnel and residents living overseas.

Early, in-person voting begins at 8 a.m. on Oct. 8 at the board of elections office at 20 S. 2nd Street in downtown Newark. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 18. From Oct. 21-25, the office is open until 6 p.m. And it is open on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 27, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Office hours are even longer starting the next week: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28; and 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, the hours are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The final days for early, in-person voting are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2; and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3.

In-person voting on Election Day will be from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Absentee ballots not being mailed must be returned to the board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. Mailed ballots that are postmarked on or before Nov. 4 must be received by Nov. 9.

Acceptable forms of photo identification for voting in Ohio. Credit: Ohio Secretary of State

What do I need to vote?

Ohio driver’s license;

State of Ohio ID card;

Interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV;

A U.S. passport;

A U.S. passport card;

U.S. military ID card;

Ohio National Guard ID card; or

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card

All photo IDs must have the following:

An expiration date that has not passed;

A photograph of the voter;

The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the county’s Poll List or in the Poll Book

NOTE: An unexpired Ohio Driver License, State ID Card, or Interim Documentation with your former address IS an ACCEPTABLE form of ID when your current address is in the poll book.

How can I find out what’s on my ballot?

Go to the board of elections website and click on “Election info” and then on “Ballots.” They make sure the first menu box is set to the Nov. 5 general election. And in the second menu box, type in “city” or “village” or “township,” and another menu box will appear that will allow you to type in your specific township, village or city. And then, it will magically pull together a sample ballot that tells all of the issues and races that will appear on your ballot.

You also can read about candidates in countywide contested races on The Reporting Project site during the coming days. 

And you can tune in to WCLT’s Kate 98.7 radio station from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, to hear many candidates in those races answer questions about how, if elected, they plan to handle issues affecting Licking County residents. The forum is sponsored by the WCLT Radio Group, the Licking County Farm Bureau and The Reporting Project.

Alan Miller

Alan Miller teaches journalism and writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University's Journalism Program. He is the former executive editor of The Columbus Dispatch and former Regional Editor for Gannett's 21-newsroom USAToday Network Ohio.