MOUNT VERNON — There are 566 registered Knox County voters at risk of being removed from the voting rolls, according to Ohio Secretary of State records. 

They are on a list of 158,857 inactive voters published by the the Ohio Secretary of State’s office recently. The voters are eligible to be removed from the Statewide Voter Registration Database — meaning they would be purged from voter rolls. 

“These registrations are eligible for removal under the law because records show they’re no longer residing or active at the registered address for at least the last four consecutive years,” LaRose said in a statement. 

The voting registration purge is annual, according to county Board of Elections deputy director Jack Goodman. The process will be complete by July 22.

Filling out a change-of-address form with the U.S. Postal Service, death or not voting at the registered address in the last four years would flag a voter as eligible for removal.

The state’s 88 county boards of elections were required to collect and submit this data to LaRose’s office earlier this year.

County boards of elections must complete their voter purge by July 22, so people on the inactive voter list have until then to take action. 

If you don’t want to be removed from the rolls, you can do the following by July 22:

  • Confirm or update their voter registration at VoteOhio.gov, by mail or in-person at their local county board of elections.
  • Update or confirm their address with their county board of elections. 
  • Submit an absentee ballot application.
  • Sign a candidate or issue petition that is verified by a board of elections. 

Knox County currently has 43,168 registered voters, Goodman said.

A voter whose registration has been purged can regain their ability to vote by registering again on the Secretary’s registration website or by visiting their county board of elections.

If a registered voter is purged and tries to vote on Election Day, they can vote provisionally, local elections Director Jim Blazer said.

Early voting begins Oct. 8. Citizens can register to vote till Oct. 7.