# 2014 Ohio voter deadlines and registration **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 6, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534 "2014-10-06T11:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/1 "2014-10-06T11:26:51Z")
Today, Monday, October 6, 2014 is the deadline to register to vote in Ohio. If you haven’t registered before this, you must get your paperwork in today. [http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters/register.aspx](http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters/register.aspx) You can download the voter registration form there. As long it’s postmarked today, your registration will be registered within twenty business days. You can check the progress of your registration at that cite as well. If you want, you can fill out the paperwork and hand it personally at your county’s board of elections. Here’s a current list of those places: [http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/electionsofficials/boeDirectory.aspx#dir](http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/electionsofficials/boeDirectory.aspx#dir) If you wish to vote by mail, the deadline to request an absentee by mail ballot is Noon of Saturday, November 1. In-person early voting is held at your county board of elections on specific dates and times. Here is a calendar with the general dates and times. If you wish to vote in-person, you should call your county board of elections to double check the times they will be available. In Ohio, these early in-person votes are technically the same as the absentee ballots. You can go to the place and fill them out, but the ballots will be held with other absentee ballots until Election Day. They won’t be counted ahead of time. Absentee ballots by mail must be postmarked by, and early voting ends on, Monday, November 3. Election day is Tuesday, November 4. The poll hours are 6:30am - 7:30pm. You can find your polling location here: [http://voterlookup.sos.state.oh.us/voterlookup.aspx?http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/pollinglocation.aspx?page=361](http://voterlookup.sos.state.oh.us/voterlookup.aspx?http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/pollinglocation.aspx?page=361) If you didn’t get your Absentee ballot by mail post marked by Monday, November 3, you can still hand it in at your county board of elections, which I linked above. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/2 "2014-10-06T13:40:39Z")
Bugger - I can’t believe I didn’t include the link to the calendar of voting days, even though I referred to it several times. It here comes now: **[http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/Voters/2014daysVoting.aspx](http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/Voters/2014daysVoting.aspx)** ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/3 "2014-10-06T14:51:06Z")
Don’t forget to take [ID](http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters/FAQ/ID.aspx) to your polling place: > [@](#): > > An unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state identification card with present or former address so long as the voter’s present residential address is printed in the official list of registered voters for that precinct; > A military identification; > A photo identification that was issued by the United States government or the State of Ohio, that contains the voter’s name and current address and that has an expiration date that has not passed; > An original or copy of a current utility bill with the voter’s name and present address; > An original or copy of a current bank statement with the voter’s name and present address; > An original or copy of a current government check with the voter’s name and present address; > An original or copy of a current paycheck with the voter’s name and present address; or > An original or copy of a current other government document (other than a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections) that shows the voter’s name and present address. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/4 "2014-10-07T16:25:06Z")
I plan to vote after work today at my local Board of Elections. I’ll be working as a pollworker on election day but not at my own voting location so I have to vote early. The upcoming election day here in Ohio will probably be busier than the primary we had in May but less stressful for pollworkers. The primary was my third outing as a pollworker and the first time both major parties had contests – meaning this was the first time we had to ask voters what ballot they wanted. I was surprised that several people were shocked that we would ask such a question and didn’t seem to understand the explanation. Thanks to Merneith and Frank for the helpful information and links! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/5 "2014-10-07T22:43:41Z")
What is with all this deadline stuff? Why is there any deadline – what purpose does it serve? Here in Minnesota, you can register and vote up to the closing time of the polling place on Election Day (and even after, if there are lines). And we have the highest voter turnout in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/6 "2014-10-07T23:06:12Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > What is with all this deadline stuff? > Why is there any deadline – what purpose does it serve? To ensure that the residency requirement (in Ohio, 30 days) is met. I guess Minnesota is willing to take the voter’s word on Election Day that they’ve lived in Minnesota for 20 days. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/7 "2014-10-07T23:25:49Z")
Yeah. I’d rather that there were federal standards for elections but each state does it differently. That’s my real motivation for starting the thread. Voting procedures are weird and occult and I wanted to get the info out for my own state, at least. Thanks for coming in with the ID requirements, Frank! I should have thought to include them. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-ohio-voter-deadlines-and-registration/700534/8 "2014-10-08T00:08:02Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > To ensure that the residency requirement (in Ohio, 30 days) is met. I guess Minnesota is willing to take the voter’s word on Election Day that they’ve lived in Minnesota for 20 days. Its easy. Walk up, step firmly on their foot. If they instantly apologize, they are natives. Baja Canada.