In 2021, Otterbein University was named one of “America’s Best Colleges for Student Voting” by Washington Monthly and a “Voter Friendly Campus” by the Campus Vote Project, led by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

That success is due to the hard work of the members of Raise Your Voice, a non-partisan, student-run campus group. Led by CardinalCorps Leaders Lindsey Payton and Hannah Sturgeon, this group is focused on voter education, engagement, and registration.

Whether you are voting in Franklin County with your Otterbein address or in another county with your permanent address, there are steps you need to take to successfully vote in Ohio this fall election season. We asked Payton to tell us what students need to know.

Lindsey Payton
Major: Equine Pre-Veterinary
Minor: Chemistry
Class Year: Senior, class of ’23
Hometown: Canton, OH

1. If you are not already registered, you should plan to register by Oct. 11. This can be done both online or by mailing a paper application to their county board of elections. You will need their driver’s license number or Ohio ID number and the last four digits of your social security number.
2. Once you are registered, it is time to figure out how you will vote this season. After you are registered, you can access your ballot for the upcoming election on your county’s board of election website. Anyone can request an absentee ballot in Ohio, and they can be requested as early as the beginning of the year, but they also can be accessed on the voteohio.org website. The request form should be printed, filled out, and mailed to your respective board of elections.
3. Absentee ballots are mailed to voters starting Oct. 12. Once you receive your absentee ballot, fill it out and send it back to the Board of Elections via mail or drop it off to the Board of Elections in the county you’re voting in. Just know that the Board of Elections needs to receive your ballot by mail by 10 days post-election.
4. If you are planning on early voting, this starts on Oct. 12, as well, and the polls at the Board of Elections for your county will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday through the month of October. When it gets closer to Election Day, more hours will be added. You can check the latest voting schedule on voteohio.gov.  
5. If you are planning to vote in person on Election Day, you can look up your polling location on your county’s Board of Elections page. Make a plan of how you are going to get there and when. The polls will be open on Nov. 8 from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
6. Finally, make time to get out and vote and remember to grab your voting sticker on your way out!