Absentee Voting for the Armed Forces or Overseas Citizens

ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS OF OHIO'S ORGANIZED MILITIA

(Ohio Air National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard, Ohio Naval Militia and Ohio Military Reserve, collectively)

If you are on active duty with Ohio's organized militia, your written application must contain all the information required of a regular absentee voter and either the address to which the ballot is to be mailed or the fax number to which it is to be faxed. You may use the application form prescribed by the Secretary of State (Form 11-J) to apply for your absentee ballot.

Alternatively, an absentee application may be submitted on your behalf by one of the following relatives: your spouse, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother or sister of the whole blood or half blood, son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece. Your relative must use the application prescribed by the Secretary of State (Form 11-C), available from the boards of elections or the Secretary of State's office. This application, which must be signed and sworn to by your relative ("the applicant"), must contain all the following information:

Your full name;
A statement that you are a qualified elector in the county;
The address at which you are registered to vote;
Your date of birth;
One of the following items showing proof of your identification:
1. Your Ohio driver's license number; or
2. The last four digits of your Social Security number; or
3. A copy of your current and valid photo identification, military identification, or a current (within the last 12 months) utility bill (including cell phone bill), bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government (including from a public college or university) document that shows your name and current address.
  (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a voter registration acknowledgement notice that the board of elections mailed to you.);
A statement identifying the election for which the absentee ballot is requested;
A statement that you are a member of the organized militia serving on active duty within the state;
If the request is for a partisan primary election ballot, your political party affiliation;
A statement specifying the applicant's relationship to you;
The address to which the ballot is to be mailed or fax number to which it is to be faxed;
The signature and address of the person making the application; and
The applicant's notarized statement attesting to the validity of the application.

For information regarding application deadlines, please see Absentee Deadlines at the end of this section.

UNIFORMED SERVICES AND OVERSEAS ABENTEE VOTERS (UOCAVA VOTERS)

The voting rights of U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. and members of the uniformed services on active duty away from their Ohio voting residence are governed by a federal law known as "The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act" ( "UOCAVA"), as well as state law.

Overseas Citizens

Generally, if you are a citizen residing outside the U.S., you are eligible to vote in federal elections in the state in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. if you were, or could have, registered to vote in that state while residing there, or currently are eligible under state law to vote in that state.

(Note: Federal law does not require any state to extend voting eligibility to a person who has never resided in that state on the basis that one or both of the person's parents are, or were, residents in that state.)

If you are eligible, you may vote a federal ballot (candidates for U.S. President, vice president, U.S. Senate and member of the U.S. House of Representatives) from the Ohio precinct in which you resided immediately before leaving the U.S. to live in a foreign country, even though you may no longer have ties to, and may not intend to return to, Ohio.

(Note: In odd-numbered years, the only federal election that may be held would be a special election to fill a vacancy in Ohio's congressional delegation.) You must register to vote and/or request an absentee ballot using the current Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) postcard or the online version. The online FPCA can be downloaded from www.fvap.gov.)

You may also be eligible to vote a regular Ohio ballot if you maintain a qualifying voting address in Ohio and have lived outside Ohio less than four consecutive years.

Members of the Uniformed Services

If you are serving on active duty in the uniformed services (U.S. Armed Services; merchant marines; and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and meet the requirements for voting at your Ohio voting residence, you may vote a uniformed services absentee ballot. Your spouse and dependents may vote a uniformed services absentee ballot only if they left their Ohio voting residence to be with or near you.

What is the voting residence of a uniformed services absentee voter?

The voting residence of a service member is the place in Ohio where the service member resided immediately preceding the commencement of his or her service, unless he or she later established a voting residence elsewhere in Ohio.
Must uniformed services absentee voters be registered to vote?

Yes.
How do I apply for a uniformed services absentee ballot?

Qualified electors who are members of the uniformed services may apply for an absentee ballot in any of the following ways:
1. If you are not currently a registered Ohio voter, you may use the current Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), available online at www.fvap.gov, both to register to vote and to request absentee ballots.
2. If you already are a registered Ohio voter, you may request an absentee ballot using a form prescribed by the Ohio Secretary of State (Form 11-A, if you will be in Ohio during the absentee period; otherwise, Form 11-D or an FPCA).
3. If you already are registered Ohio voter, you may designate an eligible relative to request an absentee ballot on your behalf. Your relative must use the form prescribed by the Ohio Secretary of State (Form 11-E).
How do I receive my absentee ballot?

If you are an individual eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), you may ask to receive your ballot in any one of the following ways:
1. In person: Once absentee ballots are available, you may go to your county board of elections office or a site designated by the board of elections for voting no later than the day before the election and request, receive, and vote your ballot at the board office or designated site.
2. By mail: Beginning January 1, 2011, or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier, you may mail your properly completed absentee ballot application, bearing your signature, to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon of the third 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, fax, or e-mail you a ballot. Your marked ballot must be returned by mail.
3. By fax: You may fax your absentee ballot request to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon of the third day before the election. You may request that the board fax, mail, or e-mail your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail.
4. By e-mail: Your completed and signed absentee ballot request form may be e-mailed to the board of elections office in the county in which you are registered to vote. The board must receive your request by noon of the third day before the election. You may request that the board fax, mail, or e-mail your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail. A complete listing of board addresses, fax numbers and email addresses may be found on the board of elections directory.
When the board of elections issues your ballot, it will provide you with information on how to track the status of your ballot in the Centralized Ballot Tracking System.

If you have requested an absentee ballot but do not receive it by October 8, 2011, you may wish to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot. Once you receive your absentee ballot, vote and return it via mail or in person. If both ballots are received by the deadline, only the state ballot will be counted.

For information regarding application deadlines, please see Absentee Deadlines at the end of this section.