Absentee Voting General Information
General Information:
- Any qualified Ohio voter whose registration information is up to date may request and vote an absentee ballot without stating a reason.
- All applications for an absentee ballot must be in writing and on an approved form. Please complete the (Absentee Ballot Application (fillable) or Absentee Ballot Application (printable)) and return it to the board of elections.
- Uniformed Services Personnel and Overseas Citizens must use a Federal Post Card Application to register to vote and/or request an absentee ballot. For additional information regarding military and overseas voting, please visit The Federal Voting Assistance Program.
- Federal Write-In Absentee Voters Ballot and Candidates & Issues
- Click here to view your PRECINCT BALLOT
- Frequently Asked Questions - Military & Overseas Voters
Absentee voting begins:
- Uniformed services voters and overseas voters are eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) 46 days before an election
- NOTE: Beginning January 1, 2018, or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier, you may mail your properly completed absentee ballot application to the board of elections office.
Once absentee ballots are available for voting, any eligible voter may receive and return an absentee ballot:
- By U.S. Mail: Portage County Board of Elections, 449 S. Meridian St., Room 101, Ravenna, OH 44266
- In-person at the county Board of Elections office, 449 S. Meridian St., Room 101, Ravenna, OH 44266
For your absentee ballot to be counted, it must be received as follows:
- If you are a voter within the U.S. and you return your ballot by mail, the return envelope containing your marked ballot must either be received by the board of elections prior to the close of polls on Election Day, or postmarked* no later than the day before the election and received by the board of elections no later than 4 days after the election.
- If you are a voter outside the U.S. on Election Day, the return envelope containing your marked ballot must be received by the board of elections not later than 4 days after the election.
- If your ballot is returned in person to the board of elections office or deposit it in the drop box in the parking lot, your marked ballot must be sealed in the completed and signed identification envelope provided with the ballot and delivered to your county board of elections office no later than 7:30 p.m., the close of polls, on Election Day.
(*“Postmarked” does not include a date marked by a postage evidence system, such as a postage meter. Therefore, the return envelope must bear a valid postage cancelation stamp affixed by the U.S. Postal Service.)
- If your ballot is returned in person to the board of elections office or deposit it in the drop box in the parking lot, your marked ballot must be sealed in the completed and signed identification envelope provided with the ballot and delivered to your county board of elections office no later than 7:30 p.m., the close of polls, on Election Day.