Voters can check or update their voter registration online, by mail or in-person at their local election board. Election board offices are open until 9 p.m. on Monday.
There have been changes to voter ID laws since the last presidential election, as well as controversial changes this year to rules surrounding use of drop boxes to return absentee ballots.
Here’s what voters should know heading into the fall election season:
Photo ID requirements
Voters wanting to cast a ballot in-person should make sure they bring a valid photo ID to the polls to comply with voter ID laws that went into effect last year.
Valid forms of identification include an Ohio driver’s license, a U.S. passport or passport card, a State of Ohio ID card, an interim ID form issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, a U.S. military ID card, an Ohio National Guard ID card, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID card.
All ID cards must be unexpired, have a photograph of the voter and include the voter’s name as it appears on the poll list. An unexpired ID with a voter’s former address is an acceptable form of ID when the person’s current address is in the poll book, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
Invalid forms of identification include out-of-state driver licenses and Social Security cards, as well as bank statements, government checks, paychecks, utility bills and more. Ohio’s new mobile ID will also not be accepted at voting locations.
Last spring, Ohio began issuing free state ID cards to people 17 and older. In order to obtain a state ID card, applicants must provide proof of their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, citizenship and Ohio street address.
Ohioans can still cast a ballot without a photo ID — they just have to vote absentee. People can both register to vote and vote by mail using only the last four digits of their Social Security number.
How to vote
Early in-person voting: County election boards are open to voters starting this Tuesday through the Sunday before Election Day.
Here’s the early voting schedule:
Oct. 8-11: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 14-18: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oct. 21-25: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Oct. 26: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oct. 27: 1-5 p.m.
Oct. 28: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29: 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 to Nov. 1: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 3: 1-5 p.m.
Absentee ballots: Those wanting to vote by mail should fill out an absentee ballot application. That application can be dropped off at or mailed to a local county board of elections office.
This form must be received by the seventh day before Election Day; during this election, that would be Oct. 29. Election boards will be open until 8:30 p.m. that day.
Election board workers will send off an absentee ballot to the applicant’s address. The voter can return the completed absentee ballot by mail, and it must be postmarked no later than the day before Election Day and received by your county board of elections no later than four days after the election.
Voters can also return their absentee ballots to their election board in person, or a near relative can deliver it on their behalf. The board of elections must receive the ballot no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Election Day: Voters can confirm their polling locations at VoterLookup.OhioSoS.gov.
New rules for drop boxes
Counties also have election drop-off boxes for ballots, but during this election season, voters can only drop off their personal ballots at the box.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in August ordered that drop boxes only be used for a person delivering his or her own ballot.
The state election office requires that people dropping off absentee ballots for others go into the board of elections office to hand in the ballots and sign a form attesting they are following the law.
This differs from previous elections, where relatives could drop off ballots for their loved ones by using a drop box. Critics of the new rule say it complicates voting for people with disabilities.
Election boards were asked to post signs at their drop boxes, flagging voters to the new rules, said Warren County Board of Elections director Brian Sleeth. He is also the immediate past president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.
But more clarity is needed regarding drop boxes, as some election boards are weighing decisions about staffing and security around their drop boxes, Sleeth said.
The new requirement for drop boxes is being challenged in the Ohio Supreme Court through a complaint filed on Sept. 27 by two Ohioans and the Ohio Democratic Party.
Contacting election boards
Butler County
1802 Princeton Road, Suite 600, Hamilton, OH 45011. Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (513) 887-3700 Fax: (513) 887-5535. E-mail: butler@OhioSoS.gov. Website: elections.bcohio.gov
Champaign County
1512 S. U.S. 68, Suite L100, Urbana, OH 43078. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 484-1575 Fax: (937) 484-1578. E-mail: champaig@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/champaign/
Clark County
3130 E. Main St., Springfield, OH 45505. Mailing Address: PO Box 1766 Springfield, OH 45501-1766. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 521-2120 Fax: (937) 328-2603. E-mail: elections@clark.boe.ohio.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/clark/
Greene County
551 Ledbetter Road, Xenia, OH 45385. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 562-6170 Fax: (937) 562-6171. E-mail: greene@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.greene.boe.ohio.gov
Miami County
215 W. Main St., Troy, OH 45373. Office Hours: 8 a.m-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 440-3900 Fax: (937) 440-3901. E-mail: miami@OhioSoS.gov. Website: www.boe.ohio.gov/miami/
Montgomery County
451 W. Third St. Dayton, OH 45422. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (937) 225-5656 Fax: (937) 496-7798. E-mail: web@montgomery.boe.ohio.gov. Website: www.montgomery.boe.ohio.gov
Warren County
520 Justice Dr., Lebanon, OH 45036. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Telephone: (513) 695-1358 Fax: (513) 695-2953. E-mail: wcboe@warrencountyohio.gov. Website: vote.warrencountyohio.gov
Important dates
Sept. 20: Military and overseas absentee voting began
Oct. 7: Deadline to register to vote
Oct. 8: Early in-person voting and absentee voting by mail begins
Oct. 29: Absentee ballot applications must be received by the election board
Nov. 3: Last day of early, in-person voting
Nov. 4: Absentee ballot postmark deadline
Nov. 5: Election Day, absentee ballots must be returned by mail or hand-delivered to the election board
Nov. 9: Last day for boards of elections to receive non-UOCAVA absentee ballots
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