OHIO — Tuesday is Election Day, and poll workers are getting ready for their precincts.

What You Need To Know

  • Election Day is Tuesday, with polls open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. 

  • All absentee ballots need to be mailed and postmarked by Nov. 6 

  • All electioneering must take place at least 100 feet from any polling location 
  • Election officials are trained in deescalation tactics
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Voters may think it is an easy and smooth process to vote, but it takes a lot of training and preparation for poll workers to prepare for the day. 

Ohioans showing up to the polls will be greeted by poll workers and election officials whose job is to make sure the day goes on without a hitch. In order to keep elections safe and free of bias or intimidation, poll workers are trained to enforce a few rules:

  • Voters are asked to not wear any items that align with a specific candidate or issue
  • Voters must have a valid photo I.D. ready
  • Poll workers need to watch for people coming and going at their location
  • All political signs and advertised affiliations must be least 100 feet from the entrance of any voting location

The Ohio Association of Election Officials said poll workers have also been trained in de-escalation tactics in cases of confrontation or high tension.

“They have very clear protocols as to whom they should call, what they should say to those voters to try to kind of tamp down those emotions,” said Aaron Ockerman who serves as the executive director of the association. “We do have memorandums of understanding with police forces and law enforcement all around the state. Poll workers know that they can call the board of elections if something gets a little out of hand or uncomfortable, and then the board of elections can reach directly out to law enforcement.”

Along with de-escalation training, election officials are also in charge of mitigating any bias. State Issues 1 and 2 and are expected to bring our electioneers from both sides. Ockerman said that they’ve already alerted some precincts about the “100 feet rule” when it comes to their stance on certain topics.

"Voters should be prepared that there might be some yard signs up as they go in to vote at some of these private locations,” said Ockerman. “They should be aware that individuals may be on site passing out literature as they head into the polling location. This is all legal, constitutionally protected activity, but it's not allowed to occur within 100 feet of the voting location. And there are clear flags at every polling location that note where electioneering can occur and where electioneering cannot occur.”

You can double check your polling location and the new guidelines around valid identification by visiting the Secretary of State's website. 

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