Voter registration deadline for May 3 primary is Monday

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The deadline for Ohioans to register to vote in the May 3 primary is Monday, unless something changes. Some county boards of elections plan to remain open late.

Early voting is set to begin Tuesday in partisan contests for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, and other statewide and local offices, as well as on some local ballot questions.

State legislative races will not appear on ballots, because boundaries for Statehouse districts remain unsettled. Additional races where districts are determined by those disputed maps also will not appear. Those include party central committees and state school board.

State lawmakers are discussing a future date for holding those elections.

Barring intervention from lawmakers or the courts, Ohioans will elect congressional representatives May 3 using U.S. House maps also in the midst of a court challenge. Those names made the ballot because that litigation can no longer be resolved before the primary.

Ohio is losing one House seat this decade, due to lagging population growth recorded in the 2020 Census. That takes its total representatives from 16 to 15.

Once registered, voters have the option to vote early in person, to request a mail-in absentee ballot or to wait and vote at their precinct on Election Day. The deadline to request an absentee ballot, if nothing changes, is noon April 30.