Voter registration for August primary election is today; Early voting to start Wednesday

Early voting for Ohio’s second primary election in August starts Wednesday.

Tuesday, July 5, is the last day to register to vote.

The upcoming election is for the Ohio House and Senate candidates.

These races were not on the May 3 primary ballot due to Ohio’s redistricting battle which took months to reach an agreement on.

By law every 10 years, Ohio redraws its maps for state Senate and House of Representative districts, along with its congressional maps.

This is in the hopes of making sure each area of Ohio has fair representation in both Columbus and Washington D.C.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Federal court orders LaRose to hold second primary in August with ‘unconstitutional’ maps

Using data from the United States Census, Ohio’s redistricting commission came up with multiple options.

The Ohio Supreme Court tossed out three sets of maps saying they favor republicans too strongly, before tweaking the third set to then approve.

By splitting the primary election into two different dates, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said he estimates it is costing state taxpayers roughly $20 million.

For his upcoming election, you can register at your county’s Board of Elections with a paper form, online or at your bureau of motor vehicles.

Montgomery County Board of Elections absentee ballots can be requested on their website or by calling 937-225-5656.

You can also request an absentee ballot if you don’t want to vote in person.

For a directory of your local Board of Elections visit here.

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