Beginning today, Wood County voters can cast their no-fault absentee ballots for the November general
election.
Unlike last year, the local board of elections is not expecting long lines for the early voting ballots.

“We were unprepared for it,” Deb Hazard, deputy director of the Wood County Board of Elections, said of
last year’s lines for the presidential election. “We had never seen the likes of it.”
This year’s election doesn’t appear to have any real “hot” ballot issues, at least based on word around
the board of elections.
“We’re not hearing that much,” Hazard said this morning.
However, there are some local village council races with hotly contested ballots. For instance, 11
citizens are running for four open seats on Haskins Village Council.
“Maybe people are being more civic minded,” Hazard said.
The ballots will be full of village and township candidates, plus several tax issues for school, streets
and fire departments.
Citizens in Perrysburg Township may be stirred to cast their votes by a couple zoning referendums, just
approved for the ballot this week by the Ohio Supreme Court.
“That could be controversial in Perrysburg Township,” Hazard said.
Some voters may be inspired by the state issues on the ballot.
The most contentious ballot issue is whether to legalize casinos in the state’s four largest cities.
Voters will also decide whether to establish a bipartisan board to set standards for livestock care and
whether to authorize $200 million in bonds to fund bonuses for veterans of the Iraq, Afghanistan and
Persian Gulf wars.
Voters may register to vote until Oct. 5. Anyone voting absentee before then will fill out a paper
ballot, rather than vote touchscreen.
That decision was made locally after Ohio Republicans argued last year that an overlap period between the
start of registration and early voting that allowed people to sign up and vote on the same day was
illegal. The same day registration and voting was ruled legal, but the local board of elections is being
cautious.
“Some people are disappointed they had to vote on paper,” Hazard said.
The touchscreens will be up in the board of elections office later next week.
Early voting ends at noon on Oct. 31.
Anyone wanting to vote absentee by mail can check out the rules at www.co.wood.oh.us/boe. A list of candidates, issues, and exact
ballot language appears on the Web site.
Poll workers are still needed for election day in the county. Anyone interested may call the board of
elections at (419) 354-9120.