State Sen. Nina Turner plans to announce the introduction of the Voter Protection Act at a press conference today at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

Turner, D-Cleveland, said the bill would emphasize promoting and facilitating ballot access, prevent arbitrary disenfranchisement of voters, and encourage county election boards to make bipartisan adjustments to meet the needs of their communities.

Turner represents Ohio Senate District 25, which consists of Eastlake, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, Lakeline, Mentor Ward 4, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, parts of Painesville Township, Timberlake, Wickliffe, Willoughby and Willowick in Lake County , plus Euclid, Richmond Heights and other eastern Cuyahoga County communities.

John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Planning to vote in the Aug. 7 special election? You can begin voting in person on Tuesday.

From The Associated Press:

COLUMBUS (AP) — Early in-person voting begins Tuesday for the Aug. 7 special election.
Secretary of State Jon Husted says voters in 35 Ohio counties will vote on 60 local issues, including school and local levies and charter amendments.
All non-military and overseas voters can begin voting at designated sites on Tuesday. Husted urges people to check with their local board of elections for locations and business hours.
The deadline to register for the special election is July 9.
Voters seeking to vote by mail can request an absentee ballot until noon Aug. 4. Request forms can be downloaded from the Secretary of State’s website, MyOhioVote.com. Voted ballots must be postmarked the day before the election, or can be returned in person until polls close.

Locally, two items are on the Aug. 7 ballot. Residents in the Madison School District will vote on a 4.9-mill tax levy for an additional 10 years to avoid an operations deficit. Residents in the Chardon School District will vote on a 5.95-mill tax levy for current expenses. Find more information on the Lake County Board of Elections website and the Geauga County Board of Elections website.

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

If you want to vote in November's election, time is running out to register to vote. Absentee voting began this week, and is available to anyone who wants to vote before the Nov. 8 election or is unable to vote on Election Day. But to cast a vote - either in person or absentee - you must be registered. Deadline for registration is Oct. 11.

You can register to vote in Ohio on the Secretary of State's website by downloading the voter registration form and mailing it to your county board of elections. For more information on eligibility and submission information, check out the voter registration information form.

You also can look up your voting information on the Secretary of State's website. Fill in the required fields to see your voting history and polling location information. You can learn a lot more about the voting process, eligibility and more on the Secretary of State's Voter Information page.

Additionally, the county boards of elections provide details about whether you are registered, where to cast your ballot, and what you'd be voting on. Visit the websites for the Lake County Board of Elections, Geauga County Board of Elections and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections for more information.

Not sure if you're going to vote in this year's election? Find out what's on the ballot. You can also read the ballot language, official explanation, and arguments for and against the three issues on the statewide ballot. That information is also available as a 60-page PDF titled State Ballot Issues Information for the November 8, 2011 General Election. If those documents are too much jargon for you, read the layman's terms version: An Associated Press article titled Ohio to decide 3 issues after heated fall campaign.

In addition to the statewide issues, several local issues and candidates are on the ballot. The News-Herald is publishing election previews of the contested races, so check back daily for more information on the candidates and different sides of the issues. You can also check out the election filings to see what issues and candidates made it onto the ballot in each municipality in Lake, Geauga and eastern Cuyahoga counties. Additionally, we have published the candidate questionnaires, which are forms we ask those running for office to fill out to give us and voters a better idea of what they would like to do if elected.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl