Registered voters who have yet to vote in this year’s primary election still have a few days left to cast their ballots by mail.

As previously reported, the original date of this year’s primary election was postponed after polls across the state didn’t open due to legislation that was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The final day is now April 28 but all remaining votes must be made by an absentee ballot, which can take a few days to access.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is this Saturday at noon — the request is an application form that must be received before the ballot can be mailed out. In order to receive one locally, the Fayette County Board of Elections (BOE) must receive the Absentee Ballot Application request form. The Absentee Ballot Application can be found at and printed from www.boe.ohio.gov/fayette/. It can also be accessed by calling the BOE at 740-335-1190 with the request to have one mailed.

Once an application is obtained by voters, all information should be filled out including the original date of the primary election, March 17. The type of ballot being requested must be indicated — a political party ballot or an issues only ballot. If the political party ballot is being requested, the political party must be identified. The application can then be mailed to the Fayette County Board of Elections, 135 S. Main St., Washington C.H., OH 43160, or placed in the drop box outside the BOE office.

Once the application is received by the BOE and verified, a ballot can then be mailed out.

Ballots must be returned to the BOE by 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, or they must be postmarked on or before April 27 and be received by May 8.

According to Beth Ann Snyder, the Fayette County Board of Elections director, the number of ballots that have been mailed out so far total 3,490. Of those, there have been 2,545 ballots returned.

Snyder explained that this is a two-step process which takes time. Since an application must be received before a ballot can be sent out, it is not possible to call the BOE and ask for a ballot to be sent without having filled out and turned in the application.

“We’re keeping up with the applications we’re receiving,” said Snyder. “We get an application in, we send a ballot out the same day. So, we’ve been keeping up with them. If somebody thinks they got an application in, but they haven’t received a ballot, then we haven’t received the application.”

As of 1:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Snyder explained that every application they have received has had a ballot mailed out.

Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355 or on Twitter @JennMwoods.