General election: deadlines, requirements, register to vote

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The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Our guide lists important deadlines, voter requirements and how to register to vote. (Canstock)
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Our guide lists important deadlines, voter requirements and how to register to vote. (Canstock)

The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. You may cast your ballot in your precinct at your designated polling place between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. If you don’t know the location of your precinct polling place, contact the board of elections in your county. Information on early voting locations appears below.


Voter information

Ohio Secretary of State. 22 N. 4th St., Columbus 43215. 1-877-767-6446. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Voters can check their polling place, precinct and find other important voting information on the Secretary of State website. Ohioans can check their voter-registration status, find their polling location, view a sample ballot and track their absentee ballot. The site lists necessary voting information, including requirements, deadlines, candidates and an election calendar. Website: www.sos.state.oh.us…. Elections and voting: www.sos.state.oh.us…. Register to vote: olvr.ohiosos.gov…

Mahoning County Board of Elections. 345 Oak Hill Ave., Entrance A, Youngstown, Ohio 44502. Phone: 330-783-2474. Fax: 330-783-2801. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. Offers voting locations and schedules, voter-registration information, sample ballots and ballot drop-box information. The Mahoning County Board of Elections is an early-voting location. Website: vote.mahoningcountyoh.gov…. To register, to see if you’re on the voting rolls and to find your polling location, visit vote.mahoningcountyoh.gov…. You can register to vote during business hours. 

Trumbull County Board of Elections. 2947 Youngstown Road SE, Warren, Ohio 44484. Phone: 330-369-4050. Fax: 330-369-4160. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. To register, see if you’re on the voting rolls and to find your polling location, visit boe.co.trumbull.oh.gov…. The Trumbull County Board of Elections is an early-voting location. You can register to vote at the Trumbull County Board of Elections during business hours. Website: boe.co.trumbull.oh.gov….

Columbiana County Board of Elections. 7989 Dickey Drive, Suite 3, Lisbon, Ohio 44432. Phone: 330-424-1448. Fax: 330-424-6661. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. To confirm your voter-registration information, view your individual precinct ballot and polling location, visit lookup.boe.ohio.gov…. The Columbiana County Board of Elections is an early-voting location. The Columbiana County Board of Elections has an after-hours, monitored drop box available by the front entrance for all election related materials. You can register to vote at the Columbiana County Board of Elections during business hours. Register to vote online: olvr.ohiosos.gov…. Voter registration form (must be mailed in or returned to the Columbiana County Board of Elections): columbiana.boe.ohio.gov…. Website: columbiana.boe.ohio.gov….


General election: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

Deadlines and important dates:

  • Deadline to register to vote in the general election: Monday, Oct. 7. Boards will be open until 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.
  • Military and overseas absentee voting: Friday, Sept. 20-Monday, Nov. 4.
  • Absentee voting by mail: Tuesday, Oct. 8-Monday, Nov. 4. Absentee ballot postmark deadline: Monday, Nov. 4. Absentee ballots may be returned by mail or personally delivered to your county board of elections. Absentee ballot applications must be received by your county board of elections by 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29.
  • General electionTuesday, Nov. 5. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. You may cast your ballot in your precinct at your designated polling place between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. If you don’t know the location of your precinct polling place, contact the board of elections in your county.

Early in-person voting:

  • Oct. 8-11 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday).
  • Oct. 14-18 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday). Early voting available on Columbus Day.
  • Oct. 21-25 (8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday).
  • Oct. 26 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday).
  • Oct. 27 (1-5 p.m., Sunday).
  • Oct. 28 (7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Monday).
  • Oct. 29 (7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Tuesday).
  • Oct. 30 (7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Wednesday).
  • Oct. 31 (7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Thursday).
  • Nov. 1 (7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Friday).
  • Nov. 2 (8 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday).
  • Nov. 3 (1-5 p.m., Sunday).

What are the qualifications to register and vote in Ohio?

You are qualified to register to vote in Ohio if you meet all the following requirements:

  • You are a citizen of the United States.
  • You will be at least 18 years old on or before the day of the next general election.
  • You will be a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days immediately before the election in which you want to vote.
  • You are not incarcerated (in prison or jail) for a felony conviction under the laws of this state (Ohio), another state or the United States.
  • You have not been declared incompetent for voting purposes by a probate court; and
  • You have not been permanently disenfranchised for violating the election laws.

You are eligible to vote in elections held in your voting precinct 30 days after you are duly registered to vote in this state. You may request an absentee ballot during that 30-day period.


Where is my residence for voting purposes?

Your residence is important because it determines the offices and issues for which you are eligible to vote. Under Ohio law, your residence is the location that you consider to be a permanent, not a temporary, residence and the place where your habitation is fixed and where, whenever you are absent, you intend to return. If you do not have a fixed place of habitation, but you are a consistent or regular inhabitant of a shelter or other location where you intend to return, you may use that location as your residence for the purposes of registering to vote.

Ohio is not considered your voting residence when:

  • You have moved to another state and vote in that state.
  • You have moved to another state and intend to make that state your residence.
  • You moved to another state and continuously reside outside of Ohio for a period of four years or more.

There are specific circumstances where you maintain your Ohio voting residence even though you are absent from the state. You will not lose your voting residency in Ohio if:

  • You leave temporarily and intend to return to Ohio.
  • You are absent from Ohio due to your services with the United States government or state of Ohio.
  • You have moved outside of the United States.

If you are a military voter, or the spouse or dependent of a military voter, your voting residence is the place in Ohio where you lived immediately before leaving Ohio for your military service.

If you were born outside of and continue to reside outside of the United States, but have a parent or guardian who last resided in and was last eligible to vote in Ohio before leaving the United States, your parent or guardian’s Ohio residence would be considered your voting residence.

If you have questions about specific residency circumstances, contact your local board of elections.


For college students

Can a college student register and vote from his or her school address in Ohio?

It depends. A college student may vote using a Ohio school residence address if the student does not intend to return to a different permanent address. When a college student registers to vote from a school address, the school residence is considered to be the place to which the student’s habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the student is absent, the student intends to return, and is considered by the student to be a permanent residence at the time of voting. Any other previous residence for voting purposes is no longer valid. It is illegal for a person to register and vote from two different addresses.

For more information about voting in college, visit here.


How to register to vote (in person)

You may obtain a voter registration form and register to vote in person at any of the following locations:

  • The office of the Secretary of State.
  • The office of any of the 88 county boards of elections.
  • The office of the registrar or any deputy registrar of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
  • Public libraries.
  • Public high schools or vocational schools.
  • County treasurers’ offices.
  • Offices of designated agencies, including:
  • The Department of Job and Family Services.
  • The Department of Health (including the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program).
  • The Department of Mental Health.
  • The Department of Developmental Disabilities.
  • Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.
  • The office of any state-assisted college or university responsible for providing assistance to students with disabilities.

When you have completed your voter registration form, review it carefully for completeness and accuracy. You may either personally deliver, or send by U.S. Mail, your voter registration form to a county board of elections or the Secretary of State’s office. You, or another person acting on your behalf, also may deliver your application to one of the offices listed above, but you should ensure your application reaches the office of a board of elections or the Secretary of State no later than the voter registration deadline, the 30th day before the election at which you want to vote.


How to register to vote (online)

To register online you will need to provide the following:

  • Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number.
  • Name.
  • Date of birth.
  • Address.
  • Last four digits of your Social Security number.

If you do not have any portion of the required information, follow this link to update your voting address using the Ohio Secretary of State’s paper form (PDF). Once you complete this form, you must sign and send it to your county board of elections.

If you are a Safe at Home participant, before you proceed, follow this link to contact the Safe at Home office.

Types of valid identification. Ohio Secretary of State

Voter identification requirements (types of valid I.D.)

Ohio law requires that every voter, upon appearing at the polling place to vote on Election Day, must announce his or her full name and current address and provide proof of identity.

There are several types of valid photo identification:

  • Ohio driver’s license.
  • State of Ohio I.D. card.
  • Interim I.D. form issued by the Ohio BMV.
  • U.S. passport.
  • U.S. passport card.
  • U.S. military I.D. card.
  • Ohio National Guard I.D. card.
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs I.D. card.

Unacceptable types of identification

Ohio law prohibits acceptance of the following forms of I.D.:

  • Driver’s license or photo identification card issued by a state other than Ohio.
  • Social Security card.
  • Birth certificate.
  • Insurance card.
  • Utility bill.
  • Bank statement.
  • Government check.
  • Paycheck.
  • Other government document.
  • Any registration acknowledgment notice from the county board of elections.

All photo I.D.s must have the following:

An expiration date that has not passed. A photograph of the voter. The voter’s name, which must substantially conform to the voter’s name as it appears in the poll list or in the poll book.

• An unexpired Ohio driver’s license, state I.D. card, or Ohio Interim Documentation with your former address is an acceptable form of I.D. when your current address is in the poll book.

• The BMV issues Ohio Interim Documentation until the applicant receives their new I.D. through the mail. A driver’s license or state identification card in the old or new format, the Ohio Interim Documentation, and a voter’s old, hole-punched driver’s license or state I.D. card are acceptable forms of identification for voting, as long as the expiration date has not passed.

• If the voter changed their name and provides proof of the legal name change, completes and signs Form 10-L, and is registered within the precinct, the voter’s name on the photo I.D. may be different from the voter’s reported change of name.

• A voter who moves within the precinct (and completes an Ohio voter registration form) or provides proof of legal name change (and completes Form 10-L) votes a regular ballot.


How to obtain a free Ohio I.D. card

Starting April 7, 2023, Ohioans who are 17 years and older can receive a state I.D. card from the BMV at no cost. Ohioans can obtain an ID by visiting a BMV deputy registrar licensing agency. To find a license agency closest to you: publicsafety.ohio.gov… here to learn more.


Provisional ballots

If you do not have any of the accepted forms of identification, you may cast a provisional ballot. However, for that ballot to be counted, you must return to the board of elections no later than four days following Election Day to provide a qualifying form of identification. If you do not have a photo I.D. because of a religious objection to being photographed, you may complete an affidavit of religious objection and have your provisional ballot count. Visit here for more information.


Steps to request and vote an absentee ballot

Option 1: Print your request and mail it to your county board of elections. Fill out an absentee ballot application online and download the PDF and print from your printer.

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Option 2: Have an application mailed to you by your county board of elections. Call your board of elections and request an application.

  1. Complete the absentee ballot request form.
  2. Once you have completed your application by providing all of the required information print and sign it.
  3. Mail the request form back to your own county board of elections. Board mailing addresses are available at OhioSoS.gov….
  4. Wait to receive your ballot in the mail from your county board of elections. If you have questions about your absentee ballot request, you should call your county board of elections or you can track the status of your ballot request as well as your voted absentee ballot through the Voter Toolkit.
  5. Return your voted ballot.

• If you return your absentee ballot by mail, 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. By state law, a postmark does not include a date marked by a postage evidence system such as a postage meter. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) estimates that it may take two to five days for your voted absentee ballot to be delivered to your board of elections by mail.

• If you are returning your voted ballot by mail during the week before Election Day, you should take it to USPS no later than the day before Election Day and ensure it receives a postmark as follows:

  1. If you use a postage label purchased at a USPS customer service window or vending machine, the date on the label is the postmark. This is the USPS-recommended way to postmark your ballot.
  2. If you use postage stamps, ask that it be postmarked.
  3. You should not use a postage meter or an online service (such as stamps.com…) to affix postage. It is your responsibility to make sure the ballot has enough postage.

• If you return your ballot to the board in person, or if a near relative delivers it for you, the board of elections must receive your ballot no later than 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. (“Near relative” includes the voter’s spouse or the voter’s father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the whole or half blood, or the son, daughter, adopting parent, adopted child, stepparent, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.)

• If you are a member of the uniformed services or a voter outside of the United States, ballots must be received by the fourth day after the election. Sign your identification envelope by the close of polls on Election Day or return in person by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

• If you do not vote your absentee ballot and instead decide to go to your assigned polling place on Election Day, you must vote a provisional ballot.

Note: No voted ballot may be returned to a board of elections by fax or e-mail. If a voted ballot is returned by fax or e-mail, it will not be accepted, processed, or counted.


Absentee ballots for hospitalized voters

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. Click here for Hospitalized Absentee Ballot Request Form 11-B(opens in a new window).


Absentee ballots for voters with disabilities

Any Ohio voter with a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act can request an absentee ballot to complete through the accessible absentee voting system. Click here for Accessible Absentee Ballot Request Form 11-G.

Compiled from Ohio Secretary of State and boards of elections in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.


Metro Monthly is a local news and events magazine based in Youngstown, Ohio. We circulate throughout the Mahoning Valley and offer print and online editions. Be sure to visit our publication’s website for news, features, local history, and the Metro Monthly Calendar. Office: 330-259-0435.

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