Ohio has new voting rules. Will you be ready and able to vote in the May primary?

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -In January, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law changes to the voting process, mainly when it comes to what forms of identification (ID) can be used to vote or request a vote-by-mail ballot.

This new law goes into effect on April 4.

Ohio has a May 2 Primary/Special Election coming up so these changes will apply for that election.

Voting in person

The biggest change is voters will be required to show a valid, non-expired, photo ID to vote.

In the past voters could use a current utility bill, bank statement, government check; paycheck, other government document, and concealed carry permits.

Those will no longer be accepted.

Vote-by-mail

There are a few changes to requesting for a mail-in ballot that also now required an Ohio driver’s license number, or and Ohio ID card number, or the last four digits of a social security number.

Again, the state will no longer accept a current utility bill, bank statement, government check; paycheck, other government document, and concealed carry permits to register for a vote-by-mail ballot.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is also changing.

In the past, the deadline to register for a mail-in ballot was three days before election day, which meant Saturday before voting on a Tuesday.

Now, the deadline is seven days before election day, meaning a week before a Tuesday election day.

Voting early in person

Voting at your board of elections, weeks before election day, has become a very popular option.

Again the major rule change is the acceptable form of ID to do so.

It must be a valid photo ID.

No longer can a voter use just the last four digits of their social security number or a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck.

The rules change also eliminates voting early, in person on the Monday before election day.

The six hours that boards of elections used to be open on the Monday before election day will be spread out to other early election days the week before.

Voter registration

If you are currently registered to vote, nothing changes and you do not have to re-register.

If you are updating your registration, because maybe you have moved, you can do so online but you must continue to provide both an Ohio driver license/state ID number and the last four of their SSN.

A person who registers to vote or updates their registration using a paper form can no longer provide a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, etc.

A person must provide an Ohio driver license or state ID number, or the last four of their SSN. This change applies going forward and does not impact voters already registered.

For more information on the changes check with your county board of elections, like the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

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