Voter Guide: Absentee Voting

Application for Absent Voter's Ballot

General Information

If you're already registered to vote in another location (for example, at your parents's residence), but you will not be available in that county to vote on Election Day, you can still vote with an absentee ballot.

Absentee voting begins 35 days before primary and general elections and — except for voters hospitalized due to emergencies, discussed under "Absentee Deadlines," below — ends the day before the election. (Note: Absentee voting does not always begin 35 days before a special election. You may contact your county board of elections to learn if a special election is being held in your precinct and, if so, when absentee ballots will be available.)

Once absentee ballots are available for voting, an absentee voter may receive and return the ballot in person at the county board of elections office, or receive and return the absentee ballot by U.S. Mail.

For the 2008 General Election,

  • The last day to request an absentee ballot is Saturday, November 1st at 12:00pm.
  • All absentee ballots need to be postmarked by Monday, November 3rd and received by the respective county Board of Elections within 10 days of the election (by November 14th) to be counted.

Questions Regarding Absentee Voting

For Students:

Must I always vote an absentee ballot because I am a student attending college in Ohio, but away from my home county of residence?

No. You are eligible to vote the ballot for the location that you consider to be your voting residence. If you happen to be at home within the 35 days before the election, you may visit your local Board of Elections and vote absentee.

What does "voting residence" mean as far as students are concerned?

It means the residence you claim as your home and the residence you claim which qualifies you to vote on a particular ballot. If you are uncertain of what residence to use as your qualifying residence for voting purposes, you should consult with your parents because each consideration of home may be different for each student.

I am a college student and I won't be home in my Ohio home county on Election Day because I am attending an Ohio college. Can I vote absentee?

Yes, you may vote absentee.

I am a student at college in Ohio and I can't seem to meet the deadline for getting the absentee ballot mailed to me at college in Ohio. Can I just register to vote in the county where I attend college?

The county in which you are registered to vote is based on where you consider your home to be. If you consider the county where you attend college to be your home, you may register to vote in that county.

I go to college out of the state of Ohio and I will be living out of Ohio for the next five years. Can I just register in my new state and vote there?

Yes, if you consider your new, out-of-state residence to be your home.

For All Voters:

Am I eligible to vote by absentee ballot?

Any qualified Ohio voter may request an absentee ballot without stating a reason. The ballot must be applied for in writing. If you are properly registered to vote, you must submit your written request to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. Your request must contain certain information (discussed below) and your original signature. You may, but are not required to, use the application form prescribed by the Ohio Secretary of State (Form 11-A, listed above).

How do I apply for an absentee ballot?

Your written application for the absentee ballot need not be in any particular form, but it must contain all of the following information:

  1. Your name;
  2. Your signature;
  3. The address at which you are registered to vote;
  4. Your date of birth;
  5. One of the following:
    1. Your Ohio driver's license number; or
    2. The last four digits of your Social Security number; or
    3. A copy of the your current and valid photo identification, military identification, current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a notice that the board of elections mailed to you.)
  6. A statement identifying the election for which you are requesting an absentee voter's ballot;
  7. A statement that you are a qualified elector;
  8. If the request is for a partisan primary election ballot, your political party affiliation; and
  9. If you want the ballots to be mailed, the address to which you want them mailed.

Absentee Deadlines

To receive your absentee ballot:

  1. By mail: Unless you are a member of the U.S. armed forces, you must mail your properly completed absentee ballot application bearing your original signature to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon on the Saturday before the election. However, you should submit your request as far in advance of the election as possible.
  2. By fax: If you are a member of the U.S. armed forces or organized state militia, you may fax your absentee ballot request to the board of elections in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon on the Saturday before the election. You may request that the board fax your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail.
  3. In person: You may go to the board of elections office during regular business hours after absentee ballots are available for voting, but no later than the day before the election, and request, receive and vote your ballot at the board office.
  4. In hospital on Election Day: Regardless of where you are hospitalized, 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 must be confined in a hospital because of an unforseeable medical emergency. Your application must specify where, why and when you came to be hospitalized. If you are 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.

For your absentee ballot to be counted, it must be received as follows:

  1. If cast from anywhere in the United States, whether returned in person or by mail, your ballot must be received by your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
  2. If properly returned from out-of-country, your ballot must be received by your county board of elections not later than the 10th day after the election.

For additional information, please reference the Ohio Secretary of State's website.