What to know this election season

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Allen County Election Board members conducted a pre-election press conference Wednesday to provide updates and information ahead of the 2010 mid-term election to be held Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

The following is information released by the Allen County Election Board:

Absentee Ballot Voting Statistics and Outstanding Ballots

The deadline to request an absentee ballot was midnight on Monday, October 25, 2010. As such, Allen County registered voters are no longer able to request a mailed absentee ballot.

As of 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, the Allen County Election board had received 6,070 applications for mailed absentee ballots and 2,127 requested ballots have not been returned.

The deadline for an absentee ballot is 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

Early Voting at City-County Building

Registered Allen County voters continue to take advantage of early in-office voting at the City-County Building. As of 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 3,312 voters had utilized the early voting option. This is a dramatic increase from the last mid-term elections conducted in 2006, where a total of 1,247 voters voted early by this time in the election in Allen County, Indiana.

The Allen County Election Board will offer early, in-office voting on the following dates and times:

- Wednesday, October 27 through Friday, October 29, 2010 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Saturday, October 30, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Monday, November 1, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Election Day Voting and Polling Locations

The polling locations will be open on Election Day to registered voters of Allen County from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Any voter properly in line to vote as of 6:00 p.m. will be permitted to vote.

Registered voters intending to vote on Election Day are encouraged to visit the Allen County Election Board website to confirm their polling location. The website includes both a map and a photo of the building at each poll location within Allen County. Such information can be located at www.acimap.us/aceb.

Sample Ballots and Voter Preparation

Registered Allen County voters will be faced with a ballot that is between 7 to 9 pages long. As such, the Allen County Election board encourages voters to visit the Allen County Election Board website at www.acimap.us/aceb where voters can review a sample ballot and become familiar with the offices as well as the State Constitutional Amendment question regarding property taxes.

Registered Allen County voters are reminded that photo identification is required to vote on Election Day. Acceptable photo identification must include the following four criteria.

- A photo of the voter
- A name that conforms to the voter registration record
- Include an expiration date either to be current or have expired sometime after the date of the last general election, including military IDs with expiration dates of “INDEF”
- Be issued by the State of Indiana or the U.S. Government

In most cases, an Indiana driver license, Indiana photo ID card, Military ID or U.S. Passport is sufficient.