ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Don't call it "early voting" in Ohio.
The correct term is "absentee voting in person," Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner declared. And Ohio's voters have been taking advantage of the opportunity to vote at their local board of elections since optical scan ballots became available Tuesday.
Absentee voting has been especially popular in Belmont County this election season, where officials want all voters to cast absentee ballots.
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Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner speaks with the Belmont County Board of Elections during a visit to St. Clairsville on Wednesday.
And Brunner addressed the issue of having an all vote-by-mail election in Ohio as she visited the Belmont County Board of Elections office Wednesday.
"I would like to see individual counties put the issue before voters and ask them if they want it," Brunner said. "I think that with an option like that, it could be successful."
County elections board members present asked how they should go about getting such a measure on the ballot.
Brunner responded that the Ohio General Assembly must authorize such actions; she is currently working to secure the authorization from state lawmakers.
Brunner also suggested the first vote-by-mail elections might be issue-only or "special elections," so that both voters and elections officials first can become accustomed to the new system .
She also speculated on how the 2008 presidential election will be different in Ohio from the 2004 election - when the eyes of the nation were on Ohio's election returns.
"We have a completely new voting system," Brunner said. "No more punch cards. Our voters will be using either optical scan or touchscreen devices."
She reiterated that absentee voting is available to all in the state who want to vote early, and that unlike four years ago, voters don't need an excuse to cast an early ballot.
Voters this year also will be required to show identification at the polls the same as they were in the 2006 gubernatorial election.
"This year officials will be more familiar with the rules," Brunner said. "We have supplied the boards of elections with manuals, and all pollworkers have been given one."