CLEVELAND — It’s a big election year in Ohio, and while a lot of people are opting to vote by mail, not everyone understands all of the rules associated with that.
THE CLAIM
We’ve seen this question asked online: "Are vote-by-mail ballots thrown out if they arrive after election day?"
THE SOURCES
To VERIFY the answer to this question, we checked the following sources:
- Ohio Revised Code (ORC) section 3509.05
- Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Community Outreach Department Manager Mike West
THE EXPLANATION
Even though Mike West works as the Board of Elections Community Outreach Department Manager in Cuyahoga county, he explained to us that everyone in Ohio has to follow the same rules for voting by mail.
"All of the laws that pertain to elections are statewide, so no matter where you live in Ohio, no matter what county you’re in, the rules remain the same," he said.
"When people mail in their vote-by-mail ballot it has to be postmarked on or before the day before the election."
When elections happen on a Tuesday, that means you need to get your ballot in the mail by the Monday before election day.
As for when your vote-by-mail ballot has to arrive to be counted, ORC section 2509.05(D)(2)(a) allows for it to get to your county Board of Elections office up to four calendar days after election day. The relevant section is quoted for you here:
"Ballots delivered in envelopes postmarked prior to the day of the election that are received after the close of the polls on election day through the fourth day thereafter shall be counted on the fifth day at the board of elections..."
This means that if election day is on a Tuesday, and you postmarked you vote-by-mail ballot by the Monday before election day, it needs to arrive to your county Board of Elections office no later than the following Saturday to be counted.
THE ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that the answer to the question" "Are vote-by-mail ballots thrown out if they arrive after Election Day?" is no.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you requested a vote-by-mail ballot and you're unsure whether you can meet the requirements explained above, Mike shared this additional information:
"If you’re worried that your ballot won’t arrive on time, people can drop off their vote-by-mail ballot [at your county Board of Elections office] up until 7:30 PM on election day."
Note that vote-by-mail ballots will not be accepted at other polling locations on election day.