Voting In Ohio

Employers are prohibited from firing an employee who takes a reasonable amount of time to vote. Salaried employees should be elegible for paid time off to vote. Specifications of time vary by employer.

You must vote by provisional ballot if:

• Your name is not in the poll book
• You do not present appropriate ID
• You are challenged and do not provide required documentation
• You request an absentee ballot and either did not receive it or did not return it

There is no provision for a partial ballot. ID must show current name and current address (except Ohio driver’s license or state ID may show former address.) Provisional ballots are usually counted unless they were cast in the wrong precinct. Voters without acceptable ID need only supply the last 4 digits of their Social Security number and do not need to supply further information. Voters without either acceptable ID or a Social Security number can sign an affirmation, and still cast a successful provisional ballot. Voters who can’t or won’t supply ID, last 4 digits of Social Security number, or a signed affirmation must go personally to the Board of Elections within 10 days of the election and supply one of these missing items.

Registered voters who may have ID problems can avoid voting a provisional ballot at the polls if they vote absentee and supply the last 4 digits of their Social Security number. For absentee application information, see section on Absentee Ballot process.