Written by Joe Armstrong, Content Specialist, Marketing, Downtown Main Library
This November, voters won’t be casting their ballots to choose a president, but there are still many important decisions for Hamilton County voters to make that impact their everyday lives.
Become an Informed Voter
Mayors, council members, township trustees, and school board members are being chosen by voters this November. Levies and local ballot issues funding children’s services, fire departments, waste collection, and more might be impacted depending on the election’s outcome.
The Library has partnered with the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area to make its Voter Guides, opens a new window available at Library branches. These nonpartisan voter information packets share information about the candidates and ballot issues you can use to make your decisions ahead of casting your vote.
You also can use Vote411.org, opens a new window to view personalized voting information of the races and issues that are on your ballot.
Gain a Wider Perspective
Find out what others have to say by searching free digital copies of numerous current-issue newspapers, opens a new window, including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Business Courier, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
Casting Your Ballot
There are three ways for registered voters to cast their ballot in the 2021 election: voting by mail, voting early, and voting on Election Day.
Any Library location can assist you in voting by mail, often known as absentee voting. We can help you print a Vote by Mail application and deliver it to the Hamilton County Board of Elections if you drop it off at a Library location by Tuesday, Oct. 26.
You also can take your application directly to the Hamilton County Board of Elections to ensure it arrives by the deadline at noon, Saturday, Oct. 30. Then, a ballot is mailed directly to you for you to fill out and return, opens a new window.
Voting early in person also is available to voters at the Hamilton County Board of Elections, opens a new window most days prior to Nov. 2.
If you prefer to vote in person on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 2, be sure to plan ahead. Alarm clocks not working, flat tires, last-minute work emergencies, and other unwanted surprises can happen to us all, so plan two or more possible times during your day to vote. Remember to bring an acceptable form of ID, opens a new window.
Find your polling location, opens a new window using the Hamilton County Board of Elections website. It may even be at a Library location. Sixteen Library locations are serving as polling places this election day while library service continues as usual. If your polling location is the Downtown Main Library, please enter the Library's North Building using the Ninth Street entrance to vote on Nov. 2. The Downtown Main Library's South Building is currently closed for renovations.
Visit the Hamilton County Board of Elections website, opens a new window for more information on all ways to vote in the election.
The Library is committed to providing nonpartisan voting information in person or online, no matter how you show up to the polls this election. Visit our Voting Information page, opens a new window for more resources ahead of the election.
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