Voting by Mail

• Fill in your name, address, date of birth, form of identification and address to which your ballot should be mailed, then print form and sign the application.
• Qualifying forms of identification include your Ohio driver license or Ohio state ID number (which begins with two alphabet letters followed by six numbers) OR the last four digits of your social security number OR a (front & back) photocopy (to enclose with your application) of a different form of current photo identification (a driver’s license, state ID card, or interim ID form issued by the Ohio BMV; a US passport or passport card; or a US military ID card, Ohio National Guard ID card, or US Department of Veterans Affairs ID card).  The copy of the photo ID MUST include images of the front and back, except for a passport which must include the passport’s identification page.
• Vote by Mail Applications must be received by the Board of Elections by 8:30pm on the seventh day before Election Day.
• We are unable to process applications that do not provide all required information.
• We cannot accept Vote by Mail applications by email or fax. There is an exception for military or overseas voters. Scroll down for more information about military or overseas voting.

Ballots are mailed from the Board of Elections beginning 28 days prior to Election Day and continue to be sent until the seventh day prior to Election Day.

Step-by-step instructions are enclosed in your Vote by Mail packet.

1. Inspect your ballot – you may have a 1-sheet ballot with candidates and issues on both sides (in some elections you may have a 2-sheet ballot.)
2. Mark your ballot – use a black or blue pen only and completely fill in the box of your choices.
3. If you make a mistake – call the Board of Elections for a replacement ballot at 513 632-7039.
4. Bring or mail back your voted ballot – place your voted ballot in the provided white identification envelope. Complete all the yellow boxes, sign and seal the ballot inside. Put the identification envelope into the return envelope. Return to Board of Elections, 4700 Smith Rd, Cincinnati OH, 45212:
   • Drop off in person by 7:30pm on Election Day. You or your spouse, domestic partner, mother, father, step-mother, step-father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, half-brother, half-sister, brother-in-law, sister-in law, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, child, step child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or other family member living in the same household may deliver it to the board.
   • Or send by mail, it must be received by 7:30pm on Election Day OR must be postmarked by the day before Election Day and received by 4 days after Election Day. Use postage stamps and/or have your Post Office postmark the sealed return envelope. Do Not use a postage meter or online service. U.S. Postal Service estimates that it may take two to five days for your voted ballot to be delivered to the Board of Elections by mail.

If you requested a Vote by Mail ballot and did not vote it – when you go to your polling location you will be required to vote provisionally.