According to HB197, which is the bill that passed the Ohio Legislature and was signed by Governor DeWine on March 27th, there is a limited opportunity for in-person voting in the Board of Elections office on April 28th, which is the date that was set to conclude the March 17th Primary Election in Ohio. The following is the criteria set for in-office voting according to Directive 2020-07 issued by the Secretary of State’s office:
- An elector who has a qualifying disability and who wishes to cast an absentee ballot using a direct recording electronic voting machine or marking device that is accessible for voters with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as for other voters. Each board must have at least one such machine or device available for use at the board of elections; and
- An elector who is unable to receive mail at the place where the elector resides or at another location.
In-person voting will only be at the board of elections. There will be no polling locations. In-person voting will occur on April 28, 2020, beginning at 6:30 a.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m. However, if electors are waiting in line to cast ballots at 7:30 p.m., they must be permitted to cast a ballot. Additionally, the board must provide a provisional ballot to any qualifying voter who chooses to vote in person and is required to receive a provisional ballot.
The full directive may be found on the Secretary of State’s website here: https://www.ohiosos.gov/globalassets/elections/directives/2020/dir2020-07pdf.pdf
Any voter who comes to the Board of Elections to vote and does not meet either criteria will receive a provisional ballot. These provisional ballots may or may not be eligible to be counted.
For ballots by mail, requests must be received by noon on Saturday, April 25th. However, it is important to send requests as soon as possible, as there is no guarantee that ballots mailed on Saturday will be received in time to return the ballot in a timely manner. For more information on requesting a ballot by mail, please refer to our Absentee Voting Update here: https://www.fulton.boe.ohio.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2765