With three months before the upcoming presidential election, those wishing to vote have until Oct. 9 to register.

“The deadline is 30 days prior to the election,” Cathy Overbeck, director of the county board of elections, said.

The county BOE will remain open that day until 9 p.m. to take registrations. Also, new voters can register online at the Ohio Secretary of State website at www.sos.state.oh.us.

“There is plenty of time to register or call to see if the registration needs updated,” she said. “Some people forget to update their addresses.”

If a registered voter hasn’t voted in the past two federal elections over a four-year period, that person can possibly be removed from the polls, Overbeck said. But the process of removal is not a quick one.

First a confirmation is sent out by the BOE to those voters who haven’t been at the polls for the past two federal elections.

“It is an opportunity to update or make any type of change to respond to that,” Overbeck said. “It is a good idea to check on your registration. If you miss one election, that doesn’t take you off the polls.”

If the voter doesn’t respond to the confirmation, he or she will remain in confirmation status. Eventually, if the voter continues to ignore the confirmation, he or she will be removed from the records, if there has been no subsequent voting. Confirmation status doesn’t prevent anyone from voting.

“You might be in confirmation status, but it doesn’t mean you can’t vote,” Overbeck said. “You probably will have to vote a provisional.”