2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 35 | Elections › Chapter 3509 | Absent Voter's Ballots › Section 3509.03 | Application for Absent Voter's Ballot.

Effective:
April 7, 2023
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 458 - 134th General Assembly
(A) Except as otherwise provided in sections 3509.051, 3511.02, and 3511.021 of the Revised Code, any qualified elector desiring to vote absent voter's ballots at an election shall deliver a written application for those ballots, either in person or by mail, to the board of elections of the county in which the elector's voting residence is located.
(B) Except as otherwise permitted under section 3511.02 of the Revised Code and under division (C) of this section, the application shall be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and shall contain all of the following:
(1) The elector's name;
(2) The elector's signature;
(3) The address at which the elector is registered to vote;
(4) The elector's date of birth;
(5) One of the following:
(a) The elector's Ohio driver's license or state identification card number;
(b) The last four digits of the elector's social security number;
(c) A copy of the elector's photo identification.
(6) A statement identifying the election for which absent voter's ballots are requested;
(7) A statement that the person requesting the ballots is a qualified elector;
(8) If the request is for primary election ballots, the elector's party affiliation;
(9) If the elector desires ballots to be mailed to the elector, the address to which those ballots shall be mailed.
(C) If the elector has a confidential voter registration record, as described in section 111.44 of the Revised Code, the elector may provide the elector's program participant identification number instead of the address at which the elector is registered to vote.
(D) Except as otherwise provided in division (A) of section 3509.051 and in division (B) of section 3509.08 of the Revised Code, an application to receive absent voter's ballots shall be delivered to the office of the board not earlier than the first day of January of the year of the elections for which the absent voter's ballots are requested or not earlier than ninety days before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted, whichever is earlier, and not later than the close of business on the seventh day before the day of the election at which the ballots are to be voted.
(E) Except as permitted under section 111.31 of the Revised Code, no public office, and no public official or employee who is acting in an official capacity, shall do either of the following:
(1) Prepay the return postage for an application for absent voter's ballots;
(2) Mail or otherwise deliver an unsolicited application for absent voter's ballots to any person.
(F) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in sections 3505.24 and 3509.08 of the Revised Code, an election official shall not fill out any portion of an application for absent voter's ballots on behalf of an applicant. The secretary of state or a board of elections may preprint only an applicant's name and address on an application for absent voter's ballots before mailing that application to the applicant, except that if the applicant has a confidential voter registration record, the secretary of state or a board of elections shall not preprint the applicant's address on the application.
Last updated January 24, 2023 at 4:02 PM