OBL Election Update: Key Dates

• This is the final day to register to vote if you are not already registered or if your address has changed. Ohio allows online voter registration, and that link can be found here. (https://olvr.ohiosos.gov/)

• The day after the registration deadline, voters can vote early in-person at their local county Board of Elections or request and submita ballot by mail.Check the hours at your local BOE to see in-person early voting hours.

• You may also at this time receive a letter from the Ohio Secretary of State with information on how to request an absentee ballot for mail-in voting.

Tuesday, November 5: Election Day

Fun Fact:You may hear the term "October Surprise" in the news over the next month. In simple terms, this is typically attributed to substantial news breaking during the month leading up to Election Daythat can significantly sway the electorate for or against a candidate. When this news breaks, it is rarely an actual surprise for the candidates. Every campaign does what is called opposition, or "oppo" research on the other candidate to find negative "dirt" to use. In modern politics, these negative findings are usually time-released by an opposing campaign to the press to try and manufacturean October Surprise.Alternately, if a significant event happens organically in the month preceding an election that can make a candidate look bad, the opposing campaign will usually take advantage of the situation and create a buzz around it with media attention as another form of creating an October Surprise.Love it or hate it, the media is a key componentto the impact of thesenews storieson voters.