10 things to know about election

September 22, 2012 at 12:06a.m.

COLUMBUS

Early voting in Ohio starts in about two weeks, with polling open to military and overseas voters later this month.

Here are 10 things you should know now in advance of the final weeks before Election Day on Nov. 6:

11111Voters also can log onto that website to check their registration information. They will have to provide their driver’s license number, birth date and last four digits of their Social Security number in order to use the new online system. They also can print change of address forms to mail directly to elections officials.

111Applications were mailed by Husted’s office to eligible voters earlier this month; applications also are available online at MyOhioVote.com.

Ballots will be available starting today for overseas and military voters and on Oct. 2 for others.

111• 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 2-Oct. 5, Oct. 10-Oct. 12 and Oct. 15-Oct. 19.

• 8 a.m.-9 p.m. on Oct. 9 (the deadline to register to vote).

• 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Oct. 22-Oct. 26 and Oct. 29-Nov. 1.

• 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 2.

111Matt McClellan, spokesman for the secretary of state, said a directive concerning early voting on those three days is in the works.

1111111Lawmakers debated legislation last year that would have required photo identification to vote, but that bill did not pass.

111Issue 1 asks whether the state should play host to a convention to review the state constitution and outline potential changes.

The question is put to voters every 20 years but has never been approved. Lawmakers, instead, have formed a constitutional modernization committee to complete a comparable review and make recommendations for amendments on future ballots.

Issue 2 is a redistricting reform package that would replace the existing processes for redrawing legislative and congressional maps, replacing a system that critics say tips in favor of whichever political party is in power with one controlled by a 12-member panel made up of equal numbers of Republicans, Democrats and independents.

222Opponents gathered enough signatures to force the legislation before voters, but Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate preemptively repealed the legislation.

A federal lawsuit on the issue is pending.