LISBON — Early voting starts Tuesday at the Columbiana County Board of Elections, giving registered voters multiple opportunities over the next four weeks to cast their ballots in person.

Voters can request absentee ballots up until April 28 to drop in the mail, the locked drop box outside the office or inside the office, but county Board of Elections Director Kim Fusco said they must arrive by 7:30 p.m. Election Day on May 5 to count.

“We no longer have a cure period,” she said.

That means any absentee ballot mailed to the office must arrive by Election Day –the postmark no longer matters. The absentee ballot must be in the office. Gone are the days when absentee ballots could arrive up to four days after the election and still count as long as they had the proper postmark prior to Election Day.

“If we don’t receive it by 7:30 p.m. May 5, it’s not going to count,” Fusco said.

That’s the biggest change for the primary election.

She did say that nothing changed for overseas voters, whose ballots can still arrive after Election Day and still count. She also explained that voters who forget their ID on Election Day can still vote a provisional ballot and still have four days to produce their ID at the election office in Lisbon.

The list of identifications acceptable for ID at the polls include driver’s license, state ID, military ID or U.S. passport.

Fusco said the Board of Elections office has been receiving a lot of phone calls and questions regarding the pending federal law known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) which could require proof of citizenship. She’s had women ask if they have to bring their divorce papers or marriage certificates along with birth certificates, since their names have changed.

“This law is not in effect yet,” she said.

It’s still pending as a bill and won’t be effective for this election, so the answer to those questions would be no.

As for the absentees, she said as of Wednesday, at least 147 had been requested. She stressed again that if a voter plans to vote absentee by mail, put the ballot in the mail as soon as possible. The requested absentee ballots so far will be mailed out to voters starting next week.

For more information about the elections and what’s on the ballot for a particular area, visit the website at columbiana.boe.ohio.gov. Remember that there’s a 24/7 camera-monitored lock box outside the office on Dickey Drive, Lisbon where an absentee ballot can be dropped off up until the polls close. That footage can be seen from the website. Only the voter or a blood relative of the voter can drop off an absentee ballot.

The in-person early voting hours are:

— 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, April 7 to April 10

— 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 13 to April 17, April 20 to April 24

— 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 27

— 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28

— 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, April 29 to May 1

— 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2

— 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 3.