COLUMBUS – Monday is the deadline for Ohioans to register to vote in the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Register to vote or check status here
Once registered, voters have the option to vote early in person on Tuesday, to request a mail-in absentee ballot or to wait and vote at their precinct on Election Day.
UPDATE 10/05/20 11:21 a.m.: Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive Monday allowing every county board of elections to install more than one secure ballot drop box at their offices for the return of absentee ballots and to station bipartisan election officials outside of the boards to accept absentee ballots.
LaRose says the order requires all 88 county boards of elections to accept absentee ballots 24 hours/day, seven days per week at their office and allows election officials to collect completed absentee ballots outside of the county board of elections at convenient drive-through ballot drop offs.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is noon on Oct. 31, but election and postal officials are urging people not to wait that long if they want their ballot to arrive on time.
Important dates on 2020 election calendar
Oct. 5 – Deadline to register to vote
Oct. 6 – First day of early voting
Oct. 31 – Deadline to request absentee ballot
Nov. 2 Deadline to request absentee ballot in person
Deadline to mail absentee ballots
Nov. 3 – ELECTION DAY: Polls open 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Deadline to submit absentee ballots in person at Board of Elections
In-person voting at precinct locations
Nov. 13 – Last day for boards of election to receive mail-in ballots
Dec. 14 – Electoral College delegates vote
Jan. 6 – Certified Electoral College votes counted in Congress
Jan. 20 – Inauguration Day
LaRose says his directive follows state law while allowing the election to be “the most accessible election in state history.”
“Despite predictable partisan politics that attempt to create phony crises, we have kept our eye on the ball and Ohio’s election officials are ready to administer a safe, secure, and accurate election,“ he said in a release announcing the order.
Democrats say the order does making ballot drop-off locations available to enough voters.
“This new directive from his office will do little to alleviate congestion and confusion at the single drop-off sites in counties with large populations,” Bride Rose Sweeney (D – Cleveland) said.
As of Sept. 29, LaRose says county election boards had received more than 2 million absentee applications.