Blue yard sign with white letters posted on a lawn, reads VOTE VOTE Please VOTE.
Blue yard sign with white letters posted on a lawn, reads VOTE VOTE Please VOTE. Credit: Frank Lewis / Signal Cleveland

The bad news: There is a non-zero chance that if you were registered to vote in Ohio, you aren’t as of last week. Following a directive from the Ohio secretary of state, county boards of elections removed thousands of people from the rolls because of inactivity or relocation. When the state did this in 2019, voter advocacy groups found that approximately 40,000 people appeared on the purge list in error.

The good news: It’s easy to find out if you’re on the purge list, and to re-register if necessary.

The list is online and it’s searchable by name. (You can also download the entire list — about 159,000 people — if that’s your thing.)

If your name appears, you’ll also see a button that links to the state’s online voter registration page. To register online, you’ll need the number from your Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card and the last four digits of your Social Security number. (Ohio ID cards are available for free from the BMV.)

You can also register for the first time at the same link.

If you’re trying to cut down on screen time, you can:

• Register in person at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, 2925 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (It’s easy to reach on RTA’s HealthLine, parking is free and the people there are very nice.)

• Register by mail by downloading this form (or calling 216-443-8683 and ask for one to be sent to you), filling it out and mailing it back to:

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
Registration Department
2925 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115-2497

You’ll find lots more information about voting in Ohio on the Secretary of State’s web site. If you can’t find an answer to your question, let us know.

The deadline to register to vote in the November general election is Oct. 7. That’s less than 70 days away. Make sure your family, friends and neighbors know too.

🗳️For more on this year’s November election, visit our Election Signals 2024 page.

Associate Editor and Director of the Editors’ Bureau (he/him)
Important stories are hiding everywhere, and my favorite part of journalism has always been the collaboration, working with colleagues to find the patterns in the information we’re constantly gathering. I don’t care whose name appears in the byline; the work is its own reward. As Batman said to Commissioner Gordon in “The Dark Knight,” “I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be.”