There are only about 80 days until Election Day – and we are very busy and could really use your help!
Most Important: Get Ready for the Election
You can read about the candidates endorsed for election by the Knox County Democratic Party on the Elections page on our website. We’ve provided short descriptions and a link to each candidate’s website.
Decide when and how you are going to vote, and put it on your calendar. This may sound extreme, but it’s been shown that people who put serious planning into when they are going to vote actually make it to the polls at a higher rate than those who do not plan. And in this election, every vote is critical!
If you are at all able to vote early in person, we strongly encourage you to do that. Here’s the full Early Voting schedule at the Knox County Board of Elections, 104 East Sugar Street, Mount Vernon:
- Tues, Oct 6 – Fri, Oct 9: 8 am to 5 pm
- Mon, Oct 12 – Fri, Oct 16: 8 am to 5 pm
- Mon, Oct 19 – Fri, Oct 23: 8 am to 5 pm
- Sat, Oct 24: 8 am to 4 pm
- Mon, Oct 26: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm
- Tue, Oct 27: 7:30 am to 8:30 pm
- Wed, Oct 28 – Fri, Oct 30: 7:30 am to 7:30 pm
- Sat, Oct 31: 8 am to 4 pm
- Sun, Nov 1: 1 pm to 5 pm
If you need to vote by mail either because of mobility concerns or because you will be out of town from October 6 through November 2, request a mail-in ballot NOW. The Board of Elections will send out ballots to those who have requested them, starting on October 6. If you request your ballot now, you’ll improve the chances that your ballot is mailed to you in the first days that ballots are mailed. Then, when you get your ballot, complete it carefully and send it back right away.
More Information for Those Considering Voting by Mail
Our current Ohio legislature recently passed into law a new deadline for mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots are now due to be received by the Board of Elections by no later than 7:30 pm on Election Day (November 3). To make matters worse, there are some worries that the U.S. postal service could slow down its delivery of ballots.
To be honest, we don’t know what will happen. But if you MUST vote by mail, we recommend you put your completed ballot in the mail by no later than October 20. This will allow for TWO WEEKS of time for the ballot to be delivered, and we certainly hope that will be long enough!
If you don’t absolutely have to vote by mail, consider voting early in person. See above for the Early Voting schedule.
And, if you need a ride to early voting, you can submit a request here. We will be recruiting volunteers to help transport voters who need a ride to get to the Board of Elections for Early Voting. If you make a request for a ride, we will do our best to schedule with you.
More Canvassing
Our listening campaign is winding down. We’ve had great results, and now have a solid list of people to visit in the next 80 days.
- A few canvassers will visit people we have identified as open to conversations about voting for Democratic candidates (a.k.a., the persuadables). These “persuaders of the persuadables” will do their best to get these voters to cast their ballot for at least one Democrat.
- A second group of canvassers will visit
- registered Democrats who did not vote in the last mid-term election, and
- people who aren’t registered as Democrats but said they always vote for Democrats when we visited them in the Listening Campaign.
- This second set of canvassers will try to make sure everyone knows the importance of this election and gets out to vote this time! These canvassers will make sure the voters know when, where, and how to vote.
- We will also visit as many registered Democrats as possible to try to make sure everyone votes!
As you can see, most of the “canvassing” will be visiting Democrats to make sure they have all of the information they need in order to vote. The people needing persuasion will be handled by a separate group of canvassers.
This second type of canvassing offers an easy-to-manage way for you to help! Canvassing can make all the difference, and visiting Democrats is the easiest and most fun type of canvassing that exists. If you like talking with friendly people who agree with you, this is the best way you can help. We will provide you with all of the materials and training you need. And we will always send you out with an experienced canvasser, so you can relax and learn from our best. If you are interested in meeting new, friendly Democrats, let us know.
Yard Signs
We have signs for most candidates running in our county, and we get more almost every week. If you want a yard sign:
- Stop by the office (9 E Vine Street, in Mount Vernon) on Wednesdays or Saturdays, 11 am – 3 pm, to pick one up.
- Fill in this form if you live on a major street (for example, Coshocton Avenue, Route 3, or Route 36) and we’ll see if we can get volunteers to bring sign(s) to you starting September 12.
Miscellaneous Other Ways You Can Help
Fill in this form if you can help us in any of the following ways:
- In the office – stuffing canvassing bags, putting together signs, handing out signs.
- Host a party for a candidate (or two or three) in your home.
- Deliver yard signs.
- Participate in the Fredericktown Tomato show parade on Saturday, September 12. We need:
- a pickup truck or car with trailer that can be decorated with Dem signs.
- a driver of the above vehicle.
- sign holders and parade marchers (toss candy — provided by the Dems — for the kids!)
We hope you can get involved in at least one of the activities above. Even if not, feel free to visit during our regular office hours, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 11 am – 3 pm, 9 E Vine Street, Mount Vernon, for a good conversation about politics.
Thank you for whatever help you can provide. Let’s make this year’s election a winner!