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Questions and answers on absentee voting for primary
Monday, February 25, 2008
COLUMBUS — Election officials expect a record number of Ohioans to vote by absentee ballot for the March 4 presidential primary.
Here are some questions and answers about absentee voting:
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsQ: Who can vote absentee?
A: Any eligible voter who wants to. Previously, only voters who met certain qualifications — such as being out of the country on Election Day — could cast an absentee ballot. But a 2005 law changed that.
Q: Are there different ways to vote absentee?
A: Yes. Voters may request a paper ballot to be sent and returned through the mail, or they may vote in person at the local board. Absentee voters have the option to use touch-screen voting machines in counties that use them, or they can request a paper ballot that is then fed through a scanning machine.
Q: When must an absentee ballot request be made to receive one?
A: Election officials must receive the absentee application by noon on the Saturday before the election. In general, absentee voting begins 25 days before the presidential primary, and voters can make their absentee request 90 days before the election.
Q: When must absentee ballots be returned?
A: They must be received by election officials by the end of voting on Election Day to be counted. Voting absentee in person must be done by the day before the election.
Q: Will I be notified if my ballot is lost in the mail?
A: No. But voters may call their boards of elections to verify that they've received their ballot.
Q: When are absentee ballots counted?
A: Election officials can begin preparing the absentee ballots to be counted on the Saturday before the election. They are then counted along with ballots cast on Election Day. However, absentee ballots coming from overseas have until the 20th day after the primary to be counted.
Q: Are election officials encouraging absentee voting?
A: Yes. More absentee voters means shorter lines and less confusion on Election Day, the logic goes.
Q: Where can I get more information?
A: Contact your county elections board or visit the Ohio Secretary of State's Web site at: www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/PublicAffairs/VoterInfoGuide.aspx?Section16
Local boards of election phone numbers: Montgomery County: (937) 225-5656. Miami County: (937) 440-3900. Greene County: (937) 562-7470. Warren County: 937-425-1358. Darke County: 937-548-1835. Preble County: (937) 456-8117.
