COLUMBIANA COUNTY Absentee ballots become available at elections board

An election official said no one was denied the right to vote.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Absentee ballots are now available from the Columbiana County Board of Elections.
John Payne, the board's director, said the ballots have been available to voters since Tuesday.
The ballots were supposed to be available Sept. 29.
Payne has put blame for the earlier lack of ballots in part on the Ohio Secretary of State's Office, which took presidential candidate Ralph Nader off the ballot on that date.
The county had two sets of ballots printed at Dayton Legal Blank, with Nader and without Nader. The company didn't get the ballots to the county last week.
Now county voters are getting ballots without Nader.
"The secretary of state's office gave us a couple of options; that's what we did," Payne said.
No one was denied the right to vote, he added. The elections board took the names of people who wanted to cast an absentee ballot and has sent them the appropriate ballot for their locale.
When callers were told the ballots weren't available, Payne said the response was, "Okay, fine."
That's because absentee voters have until noon Oct. 30 to ask for an absentee ballot by mail.
Needs signature
People who want to cast an absentee ballot must also either write a note or ask for an absentee form from the elections board.
The key, said Payne, is that the person must sign the note or form. That signature is compared to the signature of the person's voter registration to make sure the vote is valid.
The county expects to have about 3,000 to 4,000 absentee ballots this year.
Payne said that figure includes the absentee ballots sent to county residents serving in the military.
Should Nader's name be added to the ballot later, Payne said nothing can be done about the people who have already cast their ballots.
Completed mail absentee ballots for local residents must be returned to the board of elections by mail, in person, or by a close relative before the polls close Nov. 2, Election Day. For those overseas, ballots must arrive no later than 10 days after the election provided the ballot is signed before the polls close on Election Day.
wilkinson@vindy.com