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Election officials focused on finding poll workers ahead of August primary

Terry Burton of the Wood County Board of Election says one of the biggest challenges for election officials is finding enough poll workers for the upcoming primary.

WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio is about to do something it hasn't done before: hold a split primary. 

The second half of the ballots in this cycle will be up for election on Aug. 2. Some local election officials are quickly getting registration in by Tuesday's deadline. 

"We have our ballot prepped. We've been doing our mail-ins and military voters," Wood County Board of Elections Deputy Director Terry Burton said. 

During the Ohio congressional district controversy, in which state leaders were tasked with coming up with new legislative maps, some, including state officials, worried about if the primaries would happen and happen on time. Burton says the majority of ballots remained on time.

"I understand that many voters have been confused through this process," Burton said. "I'll be honest, it was frustrating, and at times, we were wondering what was actually going to happen. In the end, we ran most of our election in May."

Burton says the biggest challenge for boards of election now is finding poll workers for this new date.

"While some people are more available, other people are on vacation, they're at their kid's baseball tournament," Burton said. "We are certainly all looking to try to find as many poll workers for these elections, to make sure those spots are filled when people do go to the polls."

If you're interested in becoming a precinct election official, you can sign up at https://pollworkertracker.ohiosos.gov/signup

You must be 18 years or older, a registered voter and undergo at least two hours of training.

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