LibGuides: Voting & Elections Toolkits: Ohio (original) (raw)

ID Requirements for Registration

Online Registration

For online voter registration, an Ohio driver’s license or Ohio identification card number is required.

Online registration form

Mail-in Registration

You must provide a copy of one of the documents listed on the form to verify residence:

• Driver’s license number, OR
• Current and valid photo or military ID with your name and address, OR
• Last four digits of Social Security number, OR
• “a copy of a current (within the last 12 months) utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or government document (other than a a notice of voter registration mailed by a board of elections) that shows your name and current address.”

Mail-in registration form

If you are unable to provide acceptable proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot subject to verification of your eligibility to vote. In accordance with Ohio law, you must appear in person at the board of elections within seven (7) days immediately following Election Day to provide the necessary proof.

ID Requirements for Voting

“Ohio law requires that every voter, upon appearing at the polling place to vote on Election Day, must announce his or her full name and current address and provide proof of identity."

The forms of identification that may be used by a voter who appears at a polling place to vote on Election Day include:

• An unexpired Ohio driver’s license or state ID 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 ID
• A photo ID issued by the United States government or the State of Ohio that contains the voter’s name and current address and 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
• 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

For utility bills, bank statements, government checks, paychecks, and other government documents, “current” is defined as within the last 12 months. “Utility bill” includes a cell phone bill.

Provisional ballots: If you do not have any of the above forms of identification, you may provide either your Ohio driver’s license or state identification number (which begins with two letters followed by six numbers) or the last four digits of your Social Security number and cast a provisional ballot. Once the information is reviewed and verified by the board of elections, your ballot will be counted.

If you do not provide one of the above documents or your driver’s license/state identification number or the last four digits of your Social Security number at the precinct, you will still be able to vote using a provisional ballot. However, in order for that ballot to be counted, you must return to the board of elections no later than seven (7) days following Election Day to provide a qualifying form of identification.

For more information, please visit the Ohio Secretary of State website.