With less than 20 days until Election Day, time is quickly running out to make the necessary preparations to vote. However, if you are a first-time voter, an out-of-state student or unsure about the process, going to the busy polls can be quite overwhelming.
This week, The Northerner has created a guide to ballot box basics, filled with everything you may need to know before casting your vote on Nov. 5.
How do I know if I am eligible to vote?
If you registered to vote in the past or have before Kentucky, Indiana or Ohio’s Oct. 7 deadline, you are eligible to vote. If you don’t know if you have in the past or did recently and wish to double-check, the National Association of Secretaries of State has a website that allows you to check and/or update your voter status in any state.
If you have moved or if the information on your registration is outdated, you can update that on the same website.
What if I am an out-of-state or out-of-county voter?
If you are temporarily living in Kentucky and registered to vote in your home state or county, you can apply for something called an ‘absentee ballot.’ This is a vote cast by someone unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated, such as attending college in a different state than they live in.
Soon after you apply, you will receive a mail-in ballot at your place of residence. You can also vote in person with your absentee ballot in Kentucky on Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 28-30.
However, if you plan to vote in Kentucky, the deadline is quickly approaching, with the last day to apply for an absentee ballot being Oct. 22. You can do this on Kentucky’s official commonwealth website.
If you are a commuter student and can return to your residential state (ex. Indiana, Ohio) on the day of the election, then you can vote at a polling location in your county.
Where do I vote at? And when?
To vote, you must go to your precinct polling place. This is usually a building such as a church, school or local government center. If you are unsure of your precinct and which locations you can vote at, you can also visit the National Association of Secretaries of State’s website to check your polling location by state.
Election Day is officially on Nov. 5, but you can vote early on specific dates, or if you are using an in-person absentee ballot. Keep in mind that all ballots are due by 6 p.m. on Nov. 5.
Early voting begins on these dates:
Kentucky: Oct. 31- Nov. 2
Ohio: Oct. 8 – Nov. 3
Indiana: Oct. 8 – Nov. 4
Polling locations in each state are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What do I need to bring with me?
You will need to show a photo ID, which can include:
- Driver’s license
- Military ID
- College ID
- Kentucky, Indiana or Ohio government ID
If you are voting in person with an absentee ballot, you will need to bring that with you as well and return it to a precinct location or voting dropbox before 6 p.m. on Nov. 5.
What happens after I vote?
After you have placed your vote, your ballot is scanned electronically, placed into secure boxes and will stay there until voting officially ends at 6 p.m. From there, the ballots are transported to bipartisan teams that will collect and count the final ballots.
Curious about where your ballot ends up? You are able to track it through the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s voter information portal.
When will I know the results?
Official election results could take anywhere from 24 hours to several days after Election Day, depending on the circumstances surrounding the count. In the 2016 Presidential Election, the Associated Press called the race by 2:30 a.m. the night after the election. However, in 2020, the final results were not announced until four days later, meaning the timing of this year’s results could vary.
For further questions regarding voting requirements, live election night reporting and all other information, visit elect.ky.gov or at https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/.