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Gone are the days when you could walk into an assigned polling place, state your name and address and proceed to vote.

This Nov. 7 the most important change in election law requires voters to show proof of identification, whether it's a current driver's license or state issued photo I.D., military identification, copy of a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or any government document showing your current name and current address. You only need to provide one identification item.

It's important to note that you cannot use as proof of identification a notice that the board of elections mailed to you.

Marc Armstrong, OFBF's director of constituent action, stressed the fact that registered voters must have current address information available on bills, bank statements, paychecks and government documents if they don't have a driver's license, state I.D. or military identification.

"If you can't provide these documents, you'll need to cast a provisional ballot," Armstrong said. If you try to vote and are denied or challenged, or if you applied for but never received an absentee ballot, you may vote a provisional ballot, according to the Ohio secretary of state's office.

A person who casts a provisional ballot and does not present acceptable proof of identity at the time of voting has 10 days after the election to do so.

Armstrong said new rules this year state that registered voters in Ohio may request and cast an absentee ballot without giving a reason why they need to vote that way. Such a ballot must be applied for in writing and submitted to their county board of elections.

"We also need to point out that all Ohio counties no longer use punch card ballots," he said. To find out what type of voting equipment your county will use, go online to www.YourVoteCountsOhio.org.

To help OFBF members decide what issues or candidates to vote for, read the OFBF election guide, which will be included with the Oct. 9 Buckeye Farm News. While OFBF is non-partisan, the guide lets voters know which candidates are ag-friendly and how incumbents have voted in the past. Politicians running for open seats go through a screening process by OFBF.

The American Farm Bureau Federation picks only incumbent congressional candidates based on how representatives have voted on agricultural issues in the past.

The OFBF election guide will explain Farm Bureau positions on ballot issues.