Voting Resources: Casting a Ballot

• General Election-November 5, 2024
• Early voting: “Starting the day after the close of voter registration, all registered voters may request an absentee ballot in person at their county board of elections or early voting center as designated by the county.”

Opening/closing dates

• The deadline to request an absentee ballot is three days before the election in which you want to vote. 
• You can request your ballot for each individual election beginning on January 1 or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier, but you must complete and submit a separate application for each election in which you want to vote.
• If mailed, absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election in order to be counted. You can also return your absentee ballot in-person to your county board of elections before polls close at 7:30pm on Election Day.
• More information on Absentee Ballots and Voting may be found on the Ohio Secretary of State website. 

Military voters and voters who reside outside the U.S.

• You must designate how you prefer to receive your absentee ballot when you complete the Federal Post Card Application. You may receive it by mail, fax or email.
• Local boards of elections are required to mail uniformed services or overseas absentee ballots beginning on the 46th day before the primary or general election, or as early as possible before any special election.       
• Overseas absentee ballots may be returned only by USPS or another delivery service such as UPS or FedEx, or in person. 
• An absentee ballot must arrive at the board office by the close of polls on Election Day if delivered in person.  An absentee ballot returned by mail shall be submitted for mailing not later than 12:01 a.m. on the date of the election. It must arrive at the board of elections office on or before the 10th day after the election.
• More info on military and overseas voting may be found at Ohio Secretary of State website.

Who is eligible to use an absentee ballot?

• All Ohio voters whose registration information is up-to-date have the opportunity to vote in any election from their own homes by requesting an absentee ballot.
• After voters fill out and return an application, their absentee ballot will be mailed to them so they may make their selections at their leisure and return their ballot to the board of elections ahead of Election Day.

Application for Absentee Ballot (English or Spanish): Ohio Secretary of State website. 

Use the Polling Place Locator to find your polling place:

All Voting Tool

Ohio Secretary of State Polling Locations

• For a general election or primary, polls in Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Time off to vote: Ohio requires employers to give employees “reasonable time” off to vote.

Many organizations offer free rides to polling places. Some of these include:

• Lyft provides free or discounted rides in some underserved communities
• Political parties sometimes arrange rides for voters. Contact the local office:

Republican Party

Democratic Party

• Disability Rights Ohio operates the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program.
• If you have a permanent disability, you may be eligible to apply for a permanent absentee ballot from your Town Clerk.
• A vote by phone option is available at every polling place for voters with disabilities or for any voter who prefers this option.
• Curbside voting is available at polling places that do not meet accessibility requirements. See the Ohio Secretary of State website for more information.  
• More information available at Disability Rights Ohio Voter page.

Sample ballots

• Sample ballots available on the Ohio Secretary of State website.