COLUMBUS – Ohio voters are finding absentee ballot request forms in their mailboxes this week, ahead of schedule, and with nine weeks to go before Election Day.
Secretary of State Frank La Rose’s office has started mailing out 7.9 request forms to registered voters, with federal CARES Act funds picking up the estimated $1.1 million cost.
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Ohioans who want to vote by absentee ballot must send their request form back to their county board of elections in order to receive an absentee ballot and, to accommodate processing time at the county boards and the time required for the United States Postal Service to deliver elections mail, LaRose advises voters to mail their requests as soon as possible and definitely no later than Oct. 27.
“With the convenience of voting from home comes a responsibility: Don’t wait to make your voice heard. Get your ballot request form in the mail as soon as you can,” he said.
Absentee ballots will be sent by county boards of elections beginning Oct. 6th, the day after the deadline for voters to register for the Nov. 3 general election. There will be two more rounds of forms that will be mailed to Ohioans who register to vote through the deadline.
Track your ballot on the Secretary of State‘s website.
Ballots postmarked by the day before the election and received at county boards of election within 10 days after the election will be counted, LaRose said.
LaRose says voters who are planning to use their absentee ballots should double check the information to ensure they have filled out the form properly and signed it.
Voters should also include their e-mail or phone number since, for the first time in a general election, county elections boards will be calling or e-mailing voters who may need to remedy information on their ballot request form or absentee ballot envelope.