FAQ:
Absent / Early Voter Ballot
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Registered voters use absent voter ballots to cast vote early — no reason required

FAQ

1.) Who is eligible to vote by absent voter ballot? 2. ) How do I submit my request for an absent voter ballot? 3.) What information is required when requesting an absent voter ballot? 4. ) For my absent voter ballot to count, how, when, and where do I return my completed ballot? 5.) What about special elections?

Any qualified Ohio voter may request an absent voter ballot without stating a reason thanks to a new law enacted in 2006.

Early voting (also called absentee voting) begins 35 days before primary and general elections and — except for voters hospitalized due to emergencies — ends the day before the election.

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

To request an absent voter ballot, submit a completed copy of Form 11-A, the Absent Voter Application (PDF), or write a letter to your county board of elections.

For complete details, or check out the FAQ below or browse the Ohio Secretary of State's website.

 Who is eligible to vote by absent voter ballot?

A qualified Ohio voter does not have to state a reason to vote by an absent voter ballot, although 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 and your original signature. You may, but are not required to, use the application form prescribed by the Ohio Secretary of State.

> Absent Voter Application (pdf)

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 How do I submit my request to receive an absent voter ballot?

There's a few ways to submit your request:

1. By mail: Unless you are a member of the U.S. armed forces, you must mail your properly completed absent voter ballot application bearing your original signature to the board of elections for 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 absent voter 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. (click here for an online directory of Ohio county boards of elections)
   
   
   
3. In person: You may go to the board of elections office during regular business hours after absent voter ballots are available for voting, but no later than the day before the election, and request, receive and immediately 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 unforeseeable 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 and return it to the board office.
   
   You may include in your absent voter 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 it to the board office after you have voted it.

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 What information is required when requesting an absent voter ballot?  

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:
   • Your driver's license number; or
   • The last four digits of your social security number; or
   • A copy of your current and valid photo identification or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.
6. A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
7. A statement that you are a qualified elector;
8. If the request is for a 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.

Active duty members of the organized militia (the Ohio Air National Guard, Ohio Army National Guard, Ohio Naval Militia and Ohio Military Reserve, collectively) should browse the SOS website for application details.

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 For my absent voter ballot to count, how, when, and where do I need to return my completed ballot? 

Voters should request an absent voter ballot as early as possible in order to meet the return deadline. For your absent voter ballot to be counted, it must be received as follows, according to the SOS website:

1. If cast from anywhere in the U.S. and you return it by mail, it must be postmarked* the day before the election and received by the board of elections no later than 10 days after the election. If you return it in person or if a near relative delivers it to the board for you, it must be delivered to the board of elections no later than the close of polls on Election Day.
   
   
2. If you are a voter outside the U.S. on Election Day, your ballot envelope must be signed and postmarked by the close of polls on Election Day and received by your county board of elections not later than the 20th day after the presidential primary election or by the 10th day after a special or general election.
   
   
3. If returned in-person to the board of elections, absentee ballots must be received at your local county board of elections on Election Day by 7:30 p.m. (the close of the polls).
   
   * Postmarked does not include a date marked by a postage evidence system such as a postage meter.

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 What about special elections?

Absent or early voting begins 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 absent voter ballots will be available.

For example, Sept. 29, 2009, is the first day of absent voting for the Nov. 3, 2009, General Election.

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