Ohio's elections chief is cautioning that state law does not permit voters to return absentee ballots at their precincts on Election Day.
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose's warning comes amid a misinformation campaign around the security of voting machines that’s urging voters to do just that.
LaRose told The Associated Press that those voters who heed advice from a group of Republican election deniers and hold onto their paper ballots until Nov. 8 must deliver them to their county board of elections office.
He says poll workers at precinct-level voting locations cannot accept them.
With less than two weeks until the Nov. 8 election, 1,076,049 Ohioans have requested an absentee ballot or voted early in person, which is a 1.8% increase over the same point in the 2018 election, according to LaRose's office. So far, 135,889 Ohioans have now voted early in person and 940,160 have requested an absentee ballot by mail.
Additional reporting by WOSU.