Ohioans know how important the November general election will be — and those who are eligible and registered to vote are no doubt thinking seriously about the decisions they will make.

They must also be certain they are registered properly, and not about to get a nasty surprise. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has ordered county boards of elections to begin a “routine but enhanced” sweep of the voter rolls to clean out inactive registrations.

“Every state is required to have an ongoing process to verify the accuracy of its voter rolls, but Ohio has the most advanced and effective protocols in the nation,” LaRose said. “This work is not only critical to keeping our elections honest, but it’s also essential to making sure our election officials can properly plan for the right number of ballots, voting machines, polling places and poll workers.”

LaRose’s effort will target changes of address, past due removals, new registrations that counties acknowledged with an informational postcard that was returned as undeliverable, and Bureau of Motor Vehicles mismatches (registrations that don’t match certain details a person provided to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, such as their name, birth date, Social Security number or driver’s license number). Going through this process will also help identify registered voters who have died.

Check on your registration, especially if you’ve sat out the last few elections, but the pressing nature of November’s general election has brought you back. Registrations set for removal are supposed to be listed on the Secretary of State’s website on a Registration Readiness roster.

Be vigilant and thorough, and be sure you are able to participate. Don’t let a bureaucratic mistake silence your voice.

editorial@vindy.com