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* INFORMATION NEEDED TO REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT

You must use the application form prescribed by the Secretary of State (Form 11-A) or provided to you by your county board of elections to apply for your absentee ballot.

Send your request to your county board of elections. Board mailing addresses are available at OhioSoS.gov/boards.

ABSENTEE VOTING BY MAIL

All Ohio voters whose registration information is up-to-date have the opportunity to vote in any election from the convenience of their own homes by requesting an absentee ballot. Absentee voting has many benefits -- You can vote early, it is convenient, it reduces the chance of lines at the polls on Election Day, and absentee ballots are the first votes counted on Election Night. Voters need only fill out and return an application and their absentee ballot will be mailed to them so they may make their selections at their leisure and return their ballot to the board of elections ahead of Election Day.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is seven days before the election in which you want to vote. If mailed, absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election in order to be counted. You can also return your absentee ballot in person to your county board of elections before the close of the polls at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

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 the close of business on the seventh day before the election. 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.

STEPS TO REQUEST AND VOTE AN ABSENTEE BALLOT:

    1. Complete the absentee ballot request form*.
    2. Once you have completed your application by providing all of the required information print and sign it.
    3. Mail the request form back to your own county board of elections. Board mailing addresses are available at OhioSoS.gov/boards.
    4. Wait to receive your ballot in the mail from your county board of elections. If you have questions about your absentee ballot request, you should call your county board of elections or you can track the status of your ballot request as well as your voted absentee ballot through the Voter Toolkit.
    5. Return your voted ballot.
      • If you return your absentee ballot by mail, it must be postmarked no later than the day before Election Day and received by your county board of elections no later than four days after the election. By state law, a postmark does not include a date marked by a postage evidence system such as a postage meter. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) estimates that it may take two to five days for your voted absentee ballot to be delivered to your board of elections by mail.
      • If you are returning your voted ballot by mail during the week before Election Day, you should take it to USPS no later than the day before Election Day and ensure it receives a postmark as follows:
        • If you use a postage label purchased at a USPS customer service window or vending machine, the date on the label is the postmark. This is the USPS-recommended way to postmark your ballot.
        • If you use postage stamps, ask that it be postmarked.

        You should not use a postage meter or an online service (such as stamps.com) to affix postage. It is your responsibility to make sure the ballot has enough postage.

      • If you return your ballot to the board in person, or if a near relative* delivers it for you, the board of elections must receive your ballot no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
      • If you are a member of the uniformed services or a voter outside of the United States, ballots must be received by the fourth day after the election. Sign your identification envelope by the close of polls on Election Day or return in person by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

*Near relative includes the voter’s spouse or the voter’s father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the whole or half blood, or the son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece.

If you do not vote your absentee ballot and instead decide to go to your assigned polling place on Election Day, you must vote a provisional ballot. 
Note: No voted ballot may be returned to a board of elections by fax or e-mail. If a voted ballot is returned by fax or e-mail, it will not be accepted, processed, or counted.

MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS

Note: State and federal law make additional accommodations for military and overseas voters.
Please visit MilitaryVotes.Ohio.gov for more information

HOSPITALIZED VOTERS

If you or your minor child is in the hospital on Election Day, you must submit a properly-completed and signed request to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located by 3 p.m. on Election Day. To be eligible under this provision, you or your minor child must be confined in a hospital because of an accident or unforeseeable medical emergency. If you or your minor child is hospitalized in the same county where you are registered to vote, two representatives of the board of elections can deliver the ballot to you, wait while you mark the ballot, and return your voted ballot to the board office. Additionally, you may include in your absentee ballot application a request that your county board of elections give your unmarked ballot to a designated relative – your spouse, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, son, daughter, adopted parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece – who shall deliver the ballot to you in the hospital and return your voted ballot to the board office.
Click here for Hospitalized Absentee Ballot Request Form 11-B(opens in a new window).


VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES

Any Ohio voter with a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act can request an absentee ballot to complete through the accessible absentee voting system.
Click here for Accessible Absentee Ballot Request Form 11-G.(opens in a new window)


EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING

In Ohio, voters have many options to vote. 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.

Click here for boards of elections locations for early in-person voting.