Absentee ballot request forms are arriving in Hilliard mailboxes after Ohio elections officials began mailing the packets to all 8 million registered voters statewide.

Each envelope contains a letter from Secretary of State Frank LaRose, an official application form and a return envelope, Signal Ohio reported Sept. 4. Voters who want to cast a mail ballot can fill out the form and send it to the Franklin County Board of Elections. The board will then mail an actual ballot once the law allows, starting Oct. 6.

Ohio has mailed these forms ahead of every presidential and midterm election since 2012.

Key deadlines

  • Monday, Oct. 5: Last day to register to vote or update a registration.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 6: Early in-person voting begins at the Franklin County Board of Elections, 1700 Morse Rd., Columbus.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 27, by 8:30 p.m.: Deadline for the board to receive completed absentee ballot applications.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day. All absentee ballots must arrive at the board by 7:30 p.m. A postmark alone is not enough.

Early in-person voting runs 22 days, from Oct. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 1. Hours expand in the final week, with the board open as late as 8:30 p.m. The Franklin County Board of Elections website lists the full schedule.

No photo ID needed for mail voting

Ohio does not require a photo ID to vote by mail. Voters can meet the identification requirement by providing the last four digits of their Social Security number or their full driver's license or state ID number on the application.

A voter ID amendment, Issue 3, is on the November ballot. Signal Ohio reported that the amendment does not affect mail voting.

President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to build state-by-state databases of adult citizens. The U.S. Postal Service issued a rule claiming authority to approve or reject state mail-ballot envelope designs using unique barcodes matched to a federal voter database.

Those changes have not taken effect. Federal lawsuits filed by a coalition of Democratic states and a group of voting-rights activists have blocked enforcement. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, Aug. 24, that the administration may continue preparations, but the court has not approved the new rules. The cases remain unsettled.

Franklin County Board of Elections Director Antone White told Signal Ohio the federal dispute has not altered how Ohio handles mail voting.

"The rules we have in place are the same rules that we've been using here in Ohio … So there's been no change," White told Signal Ohio. "So voters should feel confident to request their ballot by mail."

Common application errors

According to Signal Ohio, two mistakes trip up voters most often: forgetting to sign the form and writing the current date where the form asks for a date of birth.

LaRose urged caution about forms from third-party groups. While those groups may legally circulate applications, they must use the official state form. Voters unsure about a form's authenticity can download one from ohiosos.gov or track their application using the Secretary of State's website.

Completed applications can be mailed to the Franklin County Board of Elections at P.O. Box 182111, Columbus, OH 43218-2111, or dropped in the board's 24/7 secure drop box at 1700 Morse Rd. The drop box is checked daily by a bipartisan team and monitored by video around the clock. The board's phone number is 614-525-3100.