Ohio

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee/mail ballot is November 9, 2024. If an error is found with your ballot, an election official will notify you of the issue by mail. The notice will include the necessary information and instructions to make the correction. You can track your absentee ballot using your county’s online tool. If you voted a provisional ballot, you have until November 9, 2024, to present evidence to support your eligibility to vote.  

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

Each county in Ohio has one drop box that allows voters to return their Absentee Ballot Requests and Absentee Ballots at their Board of Elections in person. Absentee Ballots must be dropped off at your Board of Elections no later than 7:30 pm on Election Day. Click here to find the address of your Board of Elections.

You can track the status of your ballot request as well as your voted absentee ballot through the Voter Toolkit.

Note: Only the voter can use outdoor drop boxes to return their voted absentee ballot. If a family member or someone assisting a voter with a disability needs to return it, they must bring it inside the election office and sign a form stating they’re allowed to under Ohio law.

Early (in-person absentee ballot) voting starts 28 days before the election. All registered voters may request and vote an absentee ballot in person at their county board of elections or voting center as designated by the county.

Note: Beginning in 2023, early voting will no longer be available on the Monday before Election Day. To find the early voting hours in your county, please click here. 

For specific information on times and locations, contact your board of elections.

The next election date is November 5, 2024. Register to vote, or verify your registration status by October 17, 2024.

To be eligible to vote you must be:

• A citizen of the United States
• At least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election
• A resident of Ohio for at least 30 days immediately before the election
• Not be incarcerated (in prison) for a felony conviction under the laws of the United States, this state or any other state of the United States
• Not been declared incompetent for voting purposes by a probate court
• You haven't been permanently disenfranchised for violating the election laws

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Ohio, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

Voters who do not have a fixed place of residence but are consistent or regular inhabitants of a shelter or other location may use that shelter or other location as their residence for purposes of registering to vote. They will have to vote in the precinct closest to where they receive mail. So, if the individual registers and receives mail at the shelter, they need to vote at the precinct near the shelter.  

You may register to vote online, in person or by mail.

Online

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. 

If you are a Safe at Home participant, before you proceed, please follow this link to contact the Safe at Home office.

You must provide proof of ID to vote.

The forms of identification that may be used include:

• An unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card with a present or former address so long as your present residential address is printed in the official list of registered voters for that precinct;
• U.S. military IDs, including Ohio National Guard
• A photo identification that was issued by the United States government or the State of Ohio that contains your name and current address and that has an expiration date that has not passed;
  • BMV issued Ohio license or ID card (old address acceptable)
  • U.S. Military, U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs, or Ohio National Guard card, U.S. Passport Book/Card
  • Note: State University IDs are not a valid form of photo ID to vote
• Probationary and restricted driver's licenses are permitted

Note: You can no longer substitute a valid photo ID with a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document containing your name and address. If you do not have a valid photo ID at the polls, you may vote a provisional ballot. For that ballot to be counted, you must present a photo ID at the office of the Board of Elections no later than the fourth day after Election Day.

Individual exceptions to the Voter ID rules may be made for religious reasons.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

The cure period for absentee ballots and provisional ballots is four days.

After election night, no more results will be released until final certification. Official election results will be uploaded on Ohio’s Secretary of State website as they become available.   

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!

In order to be a poll worker in Ohio, you must:

• Be registered to vote in the county in which you plan to work
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a resident of the county and state for the 30 days prior to the election
• Complete required training
• Not have been convicted of a felony
• Cannot be running as a candidate for the election in which you are working
• Students 17 years old must be a country resident and enrolled in senior year of high school to be appointed

You will be entitled to compensation

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

The polls will be open from 6:30 am - 7:30 pm.

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource. If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

Ohio is a “partially open” primary state. This allows voters to vote in another parties primary. You are asked to choose your party when you register to vote, however, you are able to publicly change your party affiliation in order to vote in your selected parties primary election.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if the voter's eligibility is in question and the voter would otherwise not be allowed to vote.

There are several scenarios where a voter may cast a provisional ballot:

• Your name does not appear on the official poll list for the precinct or an election official asserts that you are not eligible to vote or is unable to determine your eligibility
• You are unable or decline to provide the required proof of identity
• Your name appears on the official poll list for that precinct as having already requested an absentee ballot
• Your name is marked on the poll list or signature book with a notation that certain registration mailings have been returned as undeliverable.
• A hearing on a challenge to your eligibility as an elector has been postponed until after Election Day.
• In the opinion of the precinct officers, your signature does not match the signature on your registration form.
• Your eligibility to cast a ballot has been challenged by the precinct officials.

Before your provisional ballot can be included in the official count of an election, the board of elections must confirm your eligibility to cast the ballot and the validity of the ballot you cast. If you cast a provisional ballot and provided acceptable proof of identity, you typically do not need to provide any additional information. However, if you cast a provisional ballot and did not provide acceptable proof of identity at the time of voting, you must appear in person at the Board of Elections no later than seven days following the election to provide such proof within the 4 days immediately following Election Day. Acceptable proof of identity includes:

• Current and valid photo ID
• A military identification
• The last four digits of your Social Security number

Provisional ballots are counted until the 8th day after Election Day or until any hearing required under State Law with regard to the provisional voter is held, whichever is earlier. The counting of absentee ballots begins on the 5th day following an election. 

Ohio polling places should provide touch screen voting machines and have audio adaptations for assisting the blind. There are also adaptations for voters with lack of muscle control.

If you have a disability you may also have assistance by two election officials (of different political parties) or by the person of your choice (except employer or union agent). Poll workers are urged to accommodate voters with disabilities in any way they can.

If the polling place is not accessible for you, you may vote a ballot from your vehicle at all polling places.

Additional Resources:

Access the Vote has released new videos showcasing Florida's two most-used accessible voting machines and providing instructions on how to use them. Click here to watch.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource or your state resource.

Online voter registration is available! The registration deadline is 30 days before the election. If you register or update your information after the deadline, the change will apply for the next election.

To register online you will need to provide the following:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Address
• Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number
• Last four digits of your Social Security number

If you are missing any of the required information listed above, follow this link to update your voting address using the paper form (PDF). Once you complete this form, you must sign and send it to your county board of elections.

Employers are prohibited from firing an employee who takes a reasonable amount of time to vote. Salaried employees should be eligible for paid time off to vote. Specifications of time vary by employer.

To verify your voter registration status

The voting systems used in Ohio are optical scan and DRE.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.