COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio primary election is seven weeks away and election officials across the nation are preparing. Tuesday marks "Help America Vote Day." The goal, is to help election-cycles in the United States run smoothly.
What You Need To Know
- The goal is to educate people on the elections, and be able to recruit more poll workers
- Tuesday, Jan. 30, marks 'Help America Vote Day' helping election-cycles run smoothly this year
- In Franklin County alone, there will be 304 open polls during the March 19 primary election
In Ohio, the Franklin County Board of Elections has already begun preparations, and its goal is recruitment of poll workers. They are currently recruiting 5,000 bipartisan poll workers to train ahead of the March 19 primary election in Ohio. Franklin County has over 840,000 registered voters, and will have 304 open polls during the primary election.
Aaron Sellers says without poll workers elections would not be able to be administered in a fair way. And with 2024 being a Presidential election year, the spotlight on poll workers is even more critical. Sellers is expecting a 70% voter turnout this year in Franklin County for the March primary election. However, educating Ohioans on the new dates is critical.
“Three elections out of every four primaries are in May,” said Sellers."Unless it is in a presidential year, and obviously we’re in a presidential year. And, that election will be on March 19 of this year, and probably a lot of folks are out there that may not remember that."
Meanwhile, for some voters, the process needs to begin with registering to vote, or applying for an absentee ballot. Sellers says that being prepared is key ahead of any election. That’s why the U.S. Election Assistance Commission created “Help America Vote Day.”
“We created as a day of action to educate people about the ability to serve as poll workers in their community and sign up and help administer elections,” said Ben Hovland, a Commissioner for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission."And part of the challenge is recruiting folks to do that. And in letting people know that it’s a great way that they can serve in their communities."
Meanwhile, signing up to be a poll worker can be as simple as calling your county board of election. But, as we found out four years ago, perhaps the biggest suggestion from federal election officials is to expect the unexpected.
“I remember at this time in 2020,” Hovland said. “I didn’t see a global pandemic happening. You look at each election year, and in the aftermath it has a different story.”
The deadline to register to vote is Feb. 20, with early in-person voting beginning on Feb. 21