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Ohio election officials use signatures, ID information to verify ballots

If there is an issue with your ballot, election officials will contact you to fill out a supplemental identification form.

TOLEDO, Ohio — We continue our commitment to making sure your voice is heard by breaking down how election officials verify your ballot and ensure your vote is counted.

As you cast your ballot this year, there are several steps local boards of elections take to make sure your votes actually belong to you. The primary way they do this is with your signature, whether you sign your absentee envelope or the form you're given in-person at the polls.    

"We have, in our system, it holds up to three layers of signatures," Lucas County Board of Elections Director LaVera Scott explained. "So of course we're going to have the signature in from their registration and then any signature updates they may have done. That will be in there as well."

But that's not all that's needed. Scott said there are several pieces of identification voters can choose to submit. Each voter needs at least one.

"That one form can be your driver's license, it can be your state ID, it can be the last four digits of your social security number, it can be you sending in a copy of a government document with your name and address on it, so there's more than just one thing," Scott said.

Scott said election officials aren't looking to disqualify any ballots but if there is information missing, you'll receive a form in the mail, known as an 11-S, which asks for further proof of identification.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose said you will never be in the dark about where your ballot is.

"Ohioans can track their ballots to make sure it's received at the board of elections," LaRose said. "So just like you would track a package you order online, you can go to VoteOhio.gov and actually track your ballot."

As of Monday, more than 69,000 people requested absentee ballots in Lucas County and about half of those had already been returned. You have until Halloween to request your ballot, but officials say the sooner, the better.

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