Ohio Secretary of State's office released the postcard that Ohio voters will soon receive as part of the effort to complete the 2020 Ohio primary election.

In-person voting on March 17 was blocked by an order from Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton to combat the spread of Coronavirus/COVID-19, following an announcement by Governor Mike DeWine on March 16 that Ohioans over the age of 65 should remain home and barring gatherings of greater than 50 people.

The Ohio General Assembly then met to set April 28 as the date on which the primary election would be complete, and directed Secretary LaRose to mail a postcard to all registered voters in the state informing them about how to request an absentee ballot to vote by mail.

The legislation, H.B. 197, passed the General Assembly with a unanimous, bipartisan vote.

Should arrive next week
The 7.8 million postcards are currently in the data validation and printing phase. They are expected to begin arriving in mailboxes next week. Printing, applicable fees, and postage is estimated to be $2.4 million.

Interested voters may request a vote-by-mail ballot in one of the following ways:

• Visit VoteOhio.gov, print, and fill out the vote-by-mail ballot request form, sign it, affix postage, and mail it to your county board of elections. 

• Call your county board of elections and ask them to send you a ballot request form, fill out the form, sign it, affix postage, and mail it to your county board of elections.

• Voters who can’t print their own form may also simply write the following information on a blank sheet of paper and mail it to their board of elections:

Full name

Date of birth

Full registration address including county

Address where ballot should be mailed if different from your registration address

One of the these: Ohio driver’s license number OR last four of your Social Security number OR include a copy of an acceptable form of ID

State that “I’m a qualified elector and I’m requesting an absentee ballot for the march 17th Ohio primary”

Indicate if you want a: Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, OR Issues Only ballot (choose only one)

Sign it

Today’s date

Phone number (optional, but suggested)

Email address (optional, but suggested)