By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

As Northern Kentucky voters head to the polls Nov. 5 to choose hundreds of officeholders, county clerks advise them to vote at off-peak hours, if they can, to avoid a possible wait.

Although Kentucky's polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day, voters who work during the day sometimes form long lines at the polls in the early morning or evening.

"If you don't have to vote early in the morning, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. is a good time to go," said Boone County Clerk Marilyn K. Rouse. "After 11 a.m., we start getting people on their lunch break from work."

Northern Kentucky's county clerks also are advising people who aren't sure where to vote to check with their county clerk's office before Election Day. Although Kentuckians who register to vote through Kentucky's Motor Voter Law are sent postcard reminders of their new precincts, many recipients often throw them away without reading them, the clerks said.

People who have moved or aren't sure where to vote should call their clerk's office before Election Day. Otherwise, the phones tend to be so busy on Election Day that callers may not get through.

A new law this year also requires voters to present identification before voting, said Kenton County Clerk Bill Aylor. Before, only a signature was required. Although identification isn't required if a poll worker knows the voter, county clerks advised voters not to count on that, as new poll workers could be assigned to work their particular precinct.

Anyone who will be out of town can vote through Nov. 4 on machines now set up in the county clerks' offices in Covington, Newport and Burlington. However, residents who vote by mail must have submitted an absentee voter application to their county clerk's office by Oct. 29.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com