Midterm Elections: What you need to know

By Pulse Staff

Midterm Elections are right around the corner in Ohio and across the country. Here’s a guide to everything you need to know as a college student in how to participate in these very important elections.

Voting How-To

Voter Registration deadline for the November election is Oct. 11, 2022. Board of Election offices in Ohio will be open until 9 p.m. that day. If you are a resident of a state other than Ohio check the Secretary of State website for your home state on how to register there.

You can register to vote online if you’re an Ohio resident. The Ohio Secretary of State Office says to register online you will need to provide the following:

  • Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number
  • Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Address
  • Last four digits of your Social Security number

You can also, change your address, check your registration, or confirm your voter registration on the Secretary of State’s website.

The SOS website states that all Ohio voters whose registration information is up-to-date can vote via absentee ballot. So, if you don’t want to drive home on election day you can vote via absentee ballot. You have to fill out and return an application to have that ballot mailed to you. The application is not the ballot, it’s just a request for the ballot.

“The deadline to request an absentee ballot is three days before the election in which you want to vote, but voters can submit their application any time. If mailed, absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election in order to be counted. You can also return your absentee ballot in-person to your county board of elections before the close of the polls at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day,” according to the Ohio SOS website.

Early in-person voting begins Oct. 12 at your local BOE office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes the two Saturdays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., the Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. and the Monday before Election Day 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 8. And polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

What’s on the ballot

One big statewide race is the replacement for U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio. The republican candidate is J.D. Vance and the democratic candidate is Tim Ryan.

Vance is running as a “conservative outsider” and is probably best known as the author of Hillbilly Elegy which was made into a movie. It gained popularity on Netflix in 2020.

Ryan is running as an “advocate for Ohio’s working families” and is in his 10th term as a U.S. Representative for the 13th Congressional District of Ohio in the Akron and Youngstown area.

Ohio voters will also vote on two statewide issues.

State Issue 1 is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution. It would “require courts to consider factors like public safety when setting the amount of bail,” according to the SOS website. As part of considering public safety, the court would need to look at the seriousness of the offense, as well as a person’s criminal record, the likelihood a person will return to court, and any other factor the Ohio General Assembly may prescribe. This would “remove the requirement that the procedures for establishing the amount and conditions of bail be determined by the Supreme Court of Ohio,” according to the SOS website.

State Issue 2 is another proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would prohibit local government from allowing non-electors to vote. According to the SOS website, “the measure would amend Section 1 of Article V, Section 3 of Article X, and Section 3 of Article XVIII of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.” This would “require that only a citizen of the United States, who is at least 18 years of age and who has been a legal resident and registered voter for at least 30 days, can vote at any state or local election held in this state.” It would also “prohibit local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.”