ASHLAND — While other counties across Ohio face mandates to relocate polling stations for next week’s primary election due to Coronavirus-19, that is not currently the case in Ashland County, according to Board of Elections director Shannon Johnson.
As of now, the primary election is expected to continue as scheduled from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17 with safety precautions, which the board of elections partnered with the Ashland County Emergency Management Agency and other local and state health officials to develop.
Each poll worker will be given their own bottle of hand sanitizer to use frequently throughout the day, and the individual voting stations are expected to be cleaned after each use with disinfecting wipes. Hand sanitizer will be available to voters, too.
Those who remain concerned about the risk of voting on election day are encouraged to casting their ballot early at the Ashland County Board of Elections Office, located at 110 Cottage, Suite 106.
“It’s getting a bit late to mail out ballots because before we can do that we must have a request. So we’re encouraging in-person early voting,” she said about those with health concerns.
Early voting typically does not involve waiting in a line.
“It takes less than five minutes to get you checked in and voted,” Johnson said.
Upcoming hours for in-person early voting in Ashland are as follows:
Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13 – 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 from 1 to 5 p.m.
Monday, March 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
To vote early, all Ashland County residents must go to the Board of Elections office, but on Election Day, voters must report to their assigned precincts.
To see an official list of candidates, questions and issues appear on the March 17 primary ballot, visit www.ashlandvotes.us.
