Participating in elections is the right of every eligible Ohioan. All Ohio voters should be able to make their voices heard privately, independently, and with confidence through online voter registration, accessible in-person voting, or absentee voting. Keep reading for some of the ways elections in Ohio are accessible to voters with disabilities.

 

Support Returning Absentee Ballot 

Voters with a disability can deliver their absentee ballot themselves by mailing it or dropping it into the drop box at their county Board of Elections. Alternatively, a voter with a disability may choose any person who is not their employer or officer in their union to deliver their ballot to their county Board of Elections. Ballots, whether they are mailed or dropped off, must be received by the voter’s county Board of Elections by the close of polls on Election Day. The person delivering the ballot for a family member or disabled voter must complete an attestation form (Form 12-P) at their county Board of Elections.

• To find contact information for your county Board of Elections, go here.

 

Curbside Voting

Voters with a disability who are physically unable to enter an early voting location during the early vote period or a polling location on Election Day can vote curbside. With curbside voting, two poll workers (one Republican and one Democratic) administer the ballot to you from your vehicle. 

 

​To vote curbside, call your Board of Elections to make prior arrangements. You may also send someone inside the polling location to inform poll workers of your desire to vote curbside. 

• To find contact information for your county Board of Elections, go here.

 

Voters who are confined with a physical disability, illness, or infirmity

​If you are a voter with a disability, or are confined to your home, a nursing home, jail, or workhouse and cannot vote at your polling location on Election Day or in person at your county Board of Election office due to personal illness, physical disability, infirmity, or confinement, you may vote by an absentee ballot.

• Complete Form 11-F: Application for Absent Voter's Ballot by Confined Voter or a Voter With a Personal Illness, Physical Disability, or Infirmity

• Form here.

 

Accessible Absentee Voting

​Voters with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can use a remote ballot marking tool to vote. In this system, a ballot is sent to the voter electronically and the voter can use an accessibility device to mark the ballot on a computer. The completed ballot is then printed and mailed back to the voter’s local Board of Elections.

• Complete Form 11-G: Application for Absent Voter's Ballot by a Voter With a Disability & Request to Use Remote Ballot Marking System.

• Form here.

 

Unforeseeable Hospitalization

​If you or your minor child is confined to a hospital due to an unforeseen medical emergency in the week before Election Day, you can use a Form 11-B to vote from the hospital. 

• Complete Form 11-B: Absentee Ballot Application -- Hospitalization Due to an Accident or Unforeseeable Medical Emergency That Occurred After the Close of Business on the Seventh Day before Election Day and Before 3 p.m. on Election Day 

• Form here.

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To learn more about options for Ohio voters with disabilities, visit the Ohio Secretary of State site here.