FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE #Ohio More Than 1.6 Million Ohioans Are Taking Advantage of Vote Early Options

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Tuesday, October 23, 2012 Secretary Husted: Two Weeks Before Election Day, More Than 1.6 Million Ohioans Are Taking Advantage of Vote Early Options  More than 800,000 Ohio voters have already cast ballots Columbus – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted today announced that with just two weeks to go before Election Day, more than 1.6 million Ohioans have either cast or requested an absentee ballot for the November 6 general election. “Whether by mail, or in person, Ohioans are turning out to vote,” Secretary Husted said. “Not only is the 2012 election running smoothly so far, but every voter has the same level of access thanks to work we’ve done to ensure uniformity in how Ohio’s elections are run.” Voters choosing to vote in person prior to Election Day can check voting hours available to them by visiting www.MyOhioVote.com. All hours are uniform across the state of Ohio. Voters choosing the vote by mail option have until Saturday, November 3, 2012, at noon to request an absentee ballot from their board of elections. All are encouraged to do so sooner rather than later to allow more time for boards to process and send the ballot and for voters to complete and return them. Secretary Husted noted that all voters who have already received an absentee ballot by mail still have a few weeks to get them. Completed absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Monday, November 5, 2012, or delivered in person to the county board of elections by the close of the polls on Election Day. It is important to note that if a voter has requested an absentee ballot by mail and then decides to vote in person on Election Day or during remaining early voting hours, they will be required to vote a provisional ballot. This is an important security measure to ensure boards of elections can verify that only one ballot has been cast per voter. Additional information about absentee voting is available at www.MyOhioVote.com. 2012 General Election by the Numbers 7.9 million Ohioans are currently registered to vote. Nearly 6.9 million absentee ballot applications were sent out to Ohio voters over the course of two statewide mailings. (Initial: 6,488,648; Supplemental: 394,094) 246 total hours available to vote in person prior to Election Day in Ohio (including the last weekend). 750 hours possible to vote absentee by mail during the absentee voting period. Based on an informal survey of Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections, as of Friday, October 19, 2012: 1,427,805 voters have requested absentee ballots to vote by mail. Of those, 618,861 absentee ballots by mail have been cast. 18,681 military and overseas voters have requested ballots. Of those, 5,176 military and overseas ballots have been cast. 189,190 Ohioans have cast an absentee ballot in person at the board of elections or designated early vote center. Additional Information County-by-County Breakdown of Absentee Voting (PDF) (Excel Spreadsheet) -30- For more information, please contact Matt McClellanat (614) 995-2239.