By: Morgan Trau
Posted at 6:51 PM, May 03, 2024
and last updated 6:30 PM, May 03, 2024
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ahead of the November election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has instructed officials to purge inactive voters from the rolls. Here is what you need to do to find out if you are still registered — plus how you can stay registered.
Ohioans are gearing up for the presidential election.
“I’ts very important to vote, got a lot of decisions to make,” Cuyahoga County voter Mary Jo Boehnlein said.
Boehnlein votes in every election. But not everyone does, like Cynthia Hatcher.
“Not the preliminaries,” Hatcher said. “Mostly November is when I really look forward to voting.”
Now — county boards of elections are trying to warn the infrequent voters to check their registration.
“A voter purge is just really an opportunity for us to keep our voter rolls clean,” Tony Kaloger, the deputy director of the Cuyahoga County BOE, said.
LaRose has just ordered local officials to start removing inactive voters, and the officials must have a list of people who they intend to remove by May 21. By May 31, final “registration readiness notice” mailers must be sent out.
Kaloger explained this happens every few years. If you change your mailing address and don’t vote for four years, your voter status could be canceled. Even if you don’t move but you don’t vote for six years — you could also be purged.
“There’s a lot of checks and balances to make sure that people who are registered, who do live in Cuyahoga County, do not unfairly or prematurely get canceled,” he said.
As stated above, boards of elections will send out mail numerous times to try to get you to confirm your address and voter status. If you respond, they will keep you on. You can also go to the local office or give them a call to ask about your status.
Although he didn’t last year, LaRose is supposed to put out a list of everyone he is removing from the rolls before the voter registration deadline. You can always go on the secretary of state website to look up if you are still registered.