VOTER REGISTRATION

Registration Deadline: Your properly completed voter registration form must be postmarked or received by the 30th day before the election in which you wish to vote. If you register or update your information after the deadline, the change will apply for the next election.





VOTER REGISTRATION QUALIFICATIONS

Age: Must be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election. If you will be 18 on or before the general election, you may vote in the primary election to nominate candidates, but you cannot vote on issues or party central committees until you are 18.

Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen

Residency: Must be a resident of Ohio at least 30 days immediately before the election.

Mental Competency: Not declared incompetent for voting purposes by a probate court

Felony Convictions: A person currently serving time in jail or prison for a felony conviction can neither register to vote nor vote. Additionally, a person who has twice been convicted of a violation of Ohio's elections laws is permanently barred from voting in Ohio.



An otherwise qualified person convicted of a misdemeanor may vote, and an otherwise qualified person who had been convicted of a felony may register and vote while on probation or parole, or after completing his or her jail or prison sentence.



The voter registration of a person who is incarcerated on a felony conviction is cancelled; once that person has completed his or her jail or prison sentence, or is on probation, parole or community control, he or she must re-register to vote by the registration deadline before voting.

OBTAINING A VOTER REGISTRATION FORM

Online: Ohio voter registration

To register online you will need to provide the following:

*Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number

*Name

*Date of Birth

*Address

*Last four digits of your Social Security number



If you do not have any portion of the required information, follow this link to update your voting address using our paper form (PDF). Once you complete this form, you must sign and send it to your county board of elections.



You can also register to vote in person. Click here for a full list of locations to register to vote in person.



VERIFYING YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS

Online: Ohio voter information lookup





OBTAINING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT

Print out an Application for Absent Voter's Ballot (Spanish) and send it to County Board of Elections. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is three days before the election in which you want to vote, but voters can submit their application any time.

You can request your ballot for each individual election beginning on January 1 or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier, but you must complete and submit a separate application for each election in which you want to vote. Your request must be received by your local county board of elections by noon the third day before the election (usually a Saturday). However, you should submit your request as far in advance of the election as possible to ensure there is sufficient time for the board to mail you a ballot and for you to timely return that ballot.

Military and overseas voting: Military and Overseas voters may apply for the FPCA(Federal Post Card Application). Please visit www.OhioMilitaryVotes.com for more information.







SUBMITTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT

By U.S. Mail: Return envelope containing your marked ballot must either be received by your county board of elections prior to the close of the polls on Election Day, or postmarked no later than the day before the election and received by the board of elections no later than 10 days after the election.

In person: You can also return your absentee ballot in-person to your county board of elections before the close of the polls at 7:30pm on Election Day.



No voted ballot may be returned to a board of elections by fax or email. If a voted ballot is returned by fax or email, it will not be accepted, processed, or counted.

EARLY VOTING

Early voting qualifications: Any registered voter in Ohio may vote early. Starting the day after the close of voter registration, all registered voters may request and vote an absentee ballot in person at their county board of elections or early voting center as designated by the county. For more information click here.





ELECTION DAY VOTING

On Election Day, you must cast your ballot in your precinct at your designated polling place between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.



All voters must bring acceptable identification to the polls in order to verify their identity. Click here for a list of acceptable forms of identification.





COLLEGE STUDENT VOTERS

A college student may vote using his or her Ohio school residence address if the student does not intend to return to a different permanent address. When a college student registers to vote from his or her school address, the school residence is considered to be the place to which the student's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the student is absent, the student intends to return, and is considered by the student to be his or her permanent residence at the time of voting. Any other previous residence for voting purposes is no longer valid. It is illegal for a person to register and vote from two different addresses. For more information about voting in college, click here.





PROVISIONAL VOTING

A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if a voter's eligibility is in question and the voter would otherwise not be permitted to vote at his or her polling place. The content of a provisional ballot is no different from a regular ballot, but it is cast "provisionally" until election officials can verify the voter's eligibility to vote in the particular precinct at that election.

There are several scenarios in which a voter may cast a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot may be used on Election Day if a voter's eligibility is in question, or before (or on) Election Day if a voter has recently changed his or her address and did not update his or her voter registration.



Click here for more information.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Deciding how to vote: https://votesmart.org

Polling Place: Ohio polling place finder

What is going to be on the Ballot?: View Ohio's voting guide online for the next upcoming election.

Track your Ballot: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/ballot-tracking/

