Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to show ID to vote?
Yes, but there are details. All Election Day voters must show a valid government ID or they can use a utility bill with your name and registered address on it. Absentee voters on Sunday and Monday only need the last four digits of your social security number.
I’m being denied from voting. Help!
Call the Election Protection hotline at 866-Our-Vote. This non-partisan team of legal experts will help you navigate election law.
I’m disabled and having trouble getting into my polling location. Help!
Call the Disability Rights Ohio hotline at 800-282-9181. You may also be able to send someone in to the polling location to ask poll workers to assist with stairs or wheelchair access.
Where is my neighborhood polling place?
I got a mail-in ballot (an absentee ballot) and haven’t sent it back in. What should I do with it?
Deliver it to the county board of elections ballot box before 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots must be mailed before election day. Ballots cannot be turned in to neighborhood polling locations.
I returned my ballot already. Did they get it?
What’s a provisional ballot?
When you complete a provisional ballot, county board of elections officials will look at your registration, review your absentee ballot request, and confirm you didn’t cast a ballot already. Then, provided you’ve done everything right, it gets counted. Get it? “Provided…” “Provisional…” It’s a real ballot that gets counted later, but you want to vote using a normal ballot if you can.
I have since moved. Do I need to update my registration before requesting my ballot?
If you have moved within the same precinct but did not update your registration address before October 5th, you may vote a regular ballot at your regular polling location after completing a voter registration form to update your address. If you moved to a different precinct or county, you can vote a provisional ballot at the polling place in the precinct where you now reside.
I changed my name since the last election. Can I still vote?
Yes. Bring your new ID to your polling location and complete a name change form to update your voter registration and use a provisional ballot.
I just got rushed to the hospital. Can I still vote?
Yes! Contact your county board of elections immediately. If you or your minor child is in the hospital on Election Day, 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. 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. You can find the Hospitalized Absentee Ballot Request Form here.
