By now, many voters may have already received their absentee ballots in the mail. Boards of Elections throughout Ohio began mailing them on Tuesday, October 6. If you requested an absentee ballot, but have not yet received it, you can check the board of elections website to find out if it has been mailed. If it is listed as mailed, allow up to five days for delivery by the Post Office.

IMPORTANT: If your ballot is listed as “mailed,” but you have not received it in a reasonable length of time, call the board of elections office. They can issue a new one for you and cancel the original ballot.

Your ballot will arrive in a blue and white envelope containing the ballot, an identification envelope and a return mail envelope. It’s important to note that you need all three of these items in order to complete the absentee voting process. The envelope will also contain a sheet of instructions that will guide you step-by-step through the process of marking your ballot and preparing it for return to the board of elections. Read these instructions as you go—they are very helpful.

After you have marked your ballot, place it inside the identification envelope. Fill out all the needed information on the outside of the identification envelope. Don’t forget to sign the identification envelope. Then seal the identification envelope with the ballot inside.

Finally, place the sealed, completed and signed identification envelope into the red and white return envelope.

The final step, of course, is to return your ballot to the board of elections. You can send it by mail (be certain to affix the proper postage), or you can drop it off in person to the board of elections office. Every county in Ohio has at least one drop-box where ballots can be returned to the board of elections office.

The Geauga County Board of Elections address is:
470 Center Street, Building A
Chardon, OH 44024

It is important to note that each individual voter is responsible for submitting their absentee ballot to the board of elections. It is permitted for an individual to drop off ballots for “close family members.” However, do not give your ballot to anyone not living in your household for them to deliver for you. It is against the law for anyone to collect ballots from other voters.

This is the dropbox outside the front entrance to the Geauga County Board of Elections. I was told that ballots deposited here are collected regularly throughout the day and that the box is continually monitored by cameras for security.

Once you have sent or delivered your ballot, you can also track it through the Ohio Secretary of State website: VoteOhio.gov/track

IMPORTANT: Do this now! Do not wait till the last day to vote absentee. Absentee ballots that have been received by the board of elections prior to election day are counted FIRST. Absentee ballots that lag behind may cloud the results of the election and in some circumstances may not be counted at all.

Protect Geauga Parks is a 501(c)4  not-for-profit corporation 

This communication is for voter information only and is not authorized by any candidate, political party, campaign committee or government office.