Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting

If you are serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces outside the state, you, your spouse and dependents may vote by an armed service absentee ballot if you otherwise meet the requirements for voting in Ohio. Your spouse and dependents may vote by an armed service absentee ballot only if they left Ohio to be with you.

 

The voting residence of a service member is that place where you resided when you first entered the service, unless you later established a voting residence elsewhere in Ohio.

Armed Service absentee voters do not need to be registered to vote. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) provides a Federal Postcard Application (FPCA). This FPCA must be used.

You, your spouse or a close relative may request the Board of Elections to mail a ballot to you. Applications may be made in person, by mail or fax. An Ohio application form or a Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) may be used for convenience, but neither is required. Ohio accepts a single FPCA as a request for ballots for all elections in a calendar year. All mail request must be made include the following information:

• Your name and Auglaize County voting residence
• A statement that you are either on Ohio resident temporarily residing overseas or an Ohio resident living overseas entitled to vote for Federal office
• The election for which a ballot is requested
• If the election is primary, then indicate your party choice, or that you want to vote an issue-only ballot. (Under Ohio Election Law, the ballot you vote in a Primary Election determines your party affiliation)
• The mailing address where you want your ballot sent.
• Signature of the person requesting the ballot.

For further information on overseas citizens absentee voting contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

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