CINCINNATI — Absentee voters officially have one week remaining to fill out their ballot and mail it in to be counted for the election. No one recommends running out the clock, but post office managers in Norwood said they're guaranteeing any ballots postmarked by Monday will make it.
"We definitely will not fall short this election season," said Ryan Fitzgordon, manager of the USPS office in Norwood.
As of Sunday, three out of every four ballots mailed are back in the counting room, with eight days left to go. Noon on Saturday is the latest Ohioans can request an absentee ballot, and voters can hand-deliver them as late as 7:30 p.m. on election night, Nov. 3. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Monday and officials said it's crucial that they're officially stamped and postmarked in time.
"We recommend you go into the post office and make sure it gets postmarked," said Sherry Poland, director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections. "Make sure it has that hand-stamped postmark on it."
Over-the-counter dropoffs get special tags and are quickly sent to sorting, where the post office specifically has teams focused on election mail with managers overseeing it.
To ensure that all ballots are delivered and accounted for, the post office has been given the green light to take any steps necessary to meet this goal: Access to any gadget they need, authority to hire extra workers, the ability to pay overtime as needed, whatever it takes.
"Whatever we need, we know where to get it," said Michael Redshaw, USPS election mail coordinator for the USPS Ohio Valley.
Hamilton County election staff said they're confident and expect no delays in counting ballots after the polls close on election night.
