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Absentee Voting

Apply for an Absentee Ballot

Absentee FAQs

Absentee Label Files

Absentee Voting for the Armed Forces or Overseas Citizens

Absentee Deadlines

Absentee Deadlines

To receive your absentee ballot

1. In person: After absentee ballots are available for voting, you may go to your county board of elections office or, if the board has designated another location in the county at which registered electors may vote, at that other location instead of the board of elections office, during regular business hours, but no later than 6pm the Friday before election day, and request, receive, and vote your ballot at the board office or other designated location.
2. By mail: Beginning January 1, 2012, 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 you a ballot and for you to timely return that ballot.
3. By fax: If you are a member of the armed services or the organized state militia on active duty or an overseas voter, 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 your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail.
4. By e-mail: If you are an individual eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), you may e-mail 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 e-mail your ballot to you, but you must return your marked ballot by mail.
5. If you or your minor child is in the hospital on Election Day: If you or your minor child is in the hospital on Election Day: Regardless of where you or your minor child is 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 or your minor child must be confined in a hospital because of an accident or unforeseeable medical emergency. Your application must specify where, why, and when you or your minor child came to be hospitalized. 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. (Form 11-B).

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

1. If you are a voter in the United States, your ballot may be returned:
• By U.S. Mail: the return envelope containing your marked ballot must either be received by the board of elections prior to the close of 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 a special, primary, or general election. (Note: Ohio's election law states that "postmarked" does not include a date marked by a postage evidence system, such as a postage meter. Therefore, the return envelope must bear a valid postage cancellation stamp affixed by the U.S. Postal Service.)
• In person, either by you or an eligible family member: your marked ballot, which must be sealed in the completed and signed identification envelope provided with the ballot, must be delivered to the board of elections office no later than the close of polls on Election Day.
2. If you are a voter outside the U.S. on Election Day, the return envelope containing your marked ballot must be received by your county board of elections not later than the 10 days after a special, primary or general election.

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.